Replacement
by Eternal.Angel
Summary: Ryoma is married to Sakuno and is ready to have a kid. But then, a woman claims that she won Echizen from an auction bid. What is going on here? From: 'Ryoma is Married' by LifelessHeart. RyoSaku, RyoOC
1. Author's Note

July 11, 2007 to July 11, 2007 (REFORMATTED May 1, 2010)

**Disclaimers:** I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis.  
**Summary: **Echizen Ryoma is now married, and he is ready to have a kid with Ryuzaki Sakuno. But what happens when some things just go terribly wrong? And what's with this extra person? Enjoy! _And don't forget to review please!_

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Author's Note  
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This story has been given to be continued by Lifeless-heart, because it seems as if she has writer's block. I have been given permission to continue this story, so thank you very much, Lifeless-heart, I appreciate it!

You definitely should write more! :)

Anyhow, I will start from the beginning on her first chapter. I will adjust a few grammar mistakes here and there, and after her second chapter, that will be the starting of my own writing.

Thank you once again, Lifeless-heart, and thank you to all my readers and reviewers!

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_Owari_  
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**A/N:** Lifeless-heart has given me permission to continue on her story, so I'll start from the beginning. Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!


	2. Chapter Four: The Truth

July 11, 2007 to July 12, 2007 (REFORMATTED May 1, 2010)

**Disclaimers:** I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis and the wives of the regulars and such are Lifeless-heart's.  
**Summary: **Echizen Ryoma is now married, and he is ready to have a kid with Ryuzaki Sakuno. But what happens when some things just go terribly wrong? And what's with this extra person? Enjoy! _And don't forget to review please!_

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Chapter Four: The Truth_  
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**Please refer to Lifeless-heart's story of 'Ryoma is Married' for the latest chapter as a refresher, arigatou-gozaimasu!**

"So what if Echizen Ryoma is your older brother? I don't give a damn care about that! I have the form here proving that Echizen Ryoma is officially mine!" retorted back the girl loudly.

A vein pop began to sprout from Fuji Rila's head. Her eyes narrowed, her brows furrowing. She clenched her teeth tightly as well as her fists, and steam blew out of her nostrils and ears.

"Oh for Kami-sama's sake, everybody…RUN!" advised Rila's older brother, Echizen Ryoma, as he tugged his wife, Ryuzaki Sakuno with him to some hiding and safe spot that the rest could fine.

Rila's hair flew thickly around her as if she were Medusa (with the snake hair and all that…), and her eyes glowered with anger, "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING SUCH THINGS LIKE THAT?! AND DON'T MESS WITH ME YOU GIRL!!!!!!" She held her right fist in the air before throwing a punch at the newcomer's face.

The regulars and their wives found the girl with the contract bleeding to death from the nose. Echizen ran up to his younger sister and protested, "Even if this is the craziest situation that I have ever encountered other than trying to buy my wife her favorite flavored Ponta, you don't need to go into your don't-you-think-of-messing-with-me-and-crew-or-you'll-wish-you-were-in-hell mode just to settle this!"

"Whatever, Aniki," brushed off Rila, "I don't believe a word this girl says. She's only trying to claim you for herself!"

"Well," explained Inui Sadaharu, the Data Man, "We can always figure this out with a court case, or having the auction company inspect the form so that it matches their records."

"And," continued Inui Inual, the Data WoMan, "When I inspected this form, it is a 20 percent chance that this is a made up form, whilst 75 percent chance that this is the real thing, and 5 percent that I am uncertain of my answer."

Everyone just stared at the Data Couple in silence.

"Anyhow," Oishi spoke, breaking the silence, "Why don't all of us go to the auction company and see how this happened."

The women hastily dressed themselves up nicely for the meeting, while the men formed a group and questioned the woman in her mid-twenties.

"So what's your name?" asked Echizen, crossing his arms.

"Lyanstz Riko," answered the woman quietly.

"And what is this auction about, fssshhh?" questioned, or rather hissed, Kaidoh Kaoru.

"It's something that was posted online by the Main Tennis Companies. At first, it was only something to tease about and do for fun. But more of the women bid, and the tennis people that it would be a good idea to use the money. And I won the auction by bidding two hundred thousand yen," proudly replied the woman, as she placed a hand on her chest and beamed.

"Anata!" cried Sakuno, "We're ready!"

"Hai, Sakuno," said Ryoma as he offered his hand to her. She gratefully accepted and smiled, but the smile was rather a forced one.

Echizen called upon his limo, and everyone went inside. He specifically appointed Riko to sit separate from everyone else in case of any other surprising acts.

"In here," ordered the tennis player. She glared at him before entering the car, and soon the vehicle drove off to the auction company.

One hour later, the group had arrived at the auction company. Lyanstz led the group of people inside the building and brought them to the main office. She knocked on the door, and what was heard was a muffled reply.

"Come in and take a seat whoever wants to argue with me now."

Echizen and Sakuno looked nervously at each other as well as their senpai-tachi and in-laws before nervously entering the room with the woman.

"Have a seat," grumbled the man, who twirled around in his chair before shifting towards the scratched, blue, drawer chest and pulling out a drawer full of folders.

After taking their seats, with the couple holding their hands tightly, the man twirled around once more before facing the three people. "What business do you have with this auction company. I'm a man who is busy 24/7, and barely has any time to relax at all! Make it quick you three!"

"I just need to confirm about this auction with Echizen Ryoma," the victim himself spoke confidently, handing the contract to the man. He snatched it away and grumbled to himself as he read the form, chewing on the pen cap.

"If you're asking me whether this is fake or not, I'll tell you, this thing's real. Happened last week sir. If you're trying to avoid this thing yourself, give me a ransom and I'll be nice enough to give you a cut off," the man grumbled again afterwards, chewing on the cap more and more.

"I'll give you one hundred thousand yen if you cut off this auction so that I would only have to stay with this woman for two months," bitterly replied Echizen, who was annoyed at the tone of the auction head.

"Ryoma!" gasped Sakuno, as she clasped her hands over her mouth, "Are we able to afford so much?"

"Don't worry, Sakuno," bluntly said Ryoma, "I have all the money saved from my previous tennis tournaments, and more than enough." Then the couple glanced at the man, hoping that he would accept the offer heartily.

"Fine, fine, the more money the better anyway," accepted the head, "Two months it is. I'll rewrite this contract and expect you all to agree on it."

"Demo," started Riko, "That's not fair! You said it would be however long the owner wanted to!"

"Unless you have something to give me, missy, don't talk back like that," murmured the man in an angry tone before scribbling on the paper.

The woman grasped her fist tightly before sighing and shaking her head. _Two months is better than nothing, I suppose._

"All right," grumbled the man, "Here's the new form. Sign your names, lalala. I'm a busy man, you know." He stuffed the page in front of Echizen's face, grumbling and chewing his pen cap.

After the three agreed to the terms and signed it, the man stamped it with something red and voiced, "Two months it is then. After two months it is this man's decision whether he wishes to stay or not. Have fun." He whirled his chair towards the computer and began typing, chewing the pen cap.

The couple made their way out of the office first before the woman. The wives hurriedly gathered around Sakuno and bustled her with questions.

"Oh my gosh, Sakuno, are you all right?!" asked the twins, Kilinia and Keliana.

"Nothing bad happened right?" popped in Lianna.

"Grrrrr, what happened in there Sakuno-chan?" purred the jaguar wife, Kate.

"One hundred percent that the Echizen couple gave a ransom to the auction head and managed to shorten the deal," theorized Inual.

"SAKUNO-CHAN, DAIJOUBU? ANYTHING BAD HAPPENED IN THERE?" yelled out Risula.

Rila cracked her fists together and firmly said, "If that man didn't do anything to improve in there, I'm going to punch him in the head and give him a nice good wiener, damn it!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" she exasperated, "Anata offered half of the auction bid, and now the deal has been shortened to two months."

"Two months sounds pretty long if you ask me, nya," thought aloud Eiji.

Riko interrupted the discussion between the couples by grabbing Echizen's elbow, "It's time for you to go. So come on already."

Echizen tugged away from the woman before saying, "You force me to come on your own will and I'll cut this deal off. I'll come along by myself."

"Anata," worried Sakuno, "Are you going to stay at her house then?"

"Actually, it'd be better if I stayed at your house," said Lyanstz, "Since Nee-san will be needing it."

"Nee-san?" questioned the former regulars.

"I actually won Echizen for my Nee-san's birthday. She's always dreaming of spending time with him, so I got him as birthday present."

_You make me sound like I'm an object and not a living person_, thought Ryoma. "Fine, you can stay at my house. I'll talk of the rules later. Bring your sister to this address tonight at six and we'll discuss things out."

**Six o' clock**

"Echizen, are you sure about this?" questioned Momo curiously.

"Yea, what other way could there be?"

"Running away and dressed as a lady," suggested Eiji.

The regulars snickered and laughed at the thought of Echizen cross-dressed.

"Ding-dong," went the doorbell. Kawamaru ran and opened the door, and cordially invited the two guests inside, "Come inside please, sankyuu."

There was Riko of course, and she was dressed in simple jeans and a plain shirt. "Nee-san," she called, "Meet your birthday present!"

"Ah Riko-chan! You didn't have to get me a birthday present!" exclaimed the older sister in surprise.

"Nee-san, it's your special day, of course you need one! Especially from your little sister!" proudly stated Riko, "Now close your eyes and I'll lead you into the living room to give you your present."

The little sister caught hold of her sister in the hallway and dragged her over. "Ano, Riko-chan, I'm not so sure about this…" nervously said the older sister.

"Daijoubu, daijoubu!" calmed Riko, "You'll like it for sure!"

At last, the two were in the living room, "Open your eyes, Nee-san." The older one slowly opened her eyes, at first to see a blurry vision. _I just see people, is this my surprise?_ Once they were wrenched all the way, the entire group of people yelled, "Surprise!"

Nee-san was left speechless, her heart rate slowly increasing from the suddenness, "Arigatou-gozaimasu, Riko-chan!" thanked the sister as she hugged her sister tightly, "I love your birthday surprise!"

Riko only smirked, "That's not all. Look at the guy with the green hair and golden colored eyes." Her sister proceeded as what she was told, and her hands were over her mouth as she gasped, her eyes widening.

"It couldn't be…no! Riko-chan!" stammered her sister as she stared at _the_ Echizen Ryoma with extremely wide eyes.

"Yup, Nee-san! It's _the_ Echizen Ryoma! That's the real birthday present I was talking about!" she grinned and looked at her sister, who was starting to turn red at the sight of the man.

"Ano-o, konbanwa, eto-o, Echizen-san," greeted the older sister, "Watashi wa Lyanstz Ritsuko desu." She bowed before him and stood up straight afterwards, her eyes giving off a little nervous look.

"Hn," bluntly replied Echizen, as he gazed at the older sister of Riko.

She was quite the thing, actually. She wore a white skirt that hung around to her calves, pairing that up with a light pink t-shirt. Her toenails and fingernails were tinted with a clear nail polish, and her pale skin shone in the bright light. Her hair, just dangling around her shoulders, were a sleek brown color that matched perfectly with the rest of her physical features.

"Echizen, oi, Echizen!" called Momo as he snapped his fingers in front of Echizen's face. Ryoma snapped back into reality with an alert as he looked around him before settling down.

"So, Echizen-kun, what's the plan?" questioned Riko as she made herself at home on the leather sofa.

"If Lyanstz needs this house, then she can stay here if she wants," coldly said Ryoma, casting a glare at her for a moment before turning towards the little sister's attention, "You can stay here too, if you prefer so."

"Echizen-kun, did you already forget about Sakuno-chan?" whimpered Ann, wife of Momoshiro as she started to feel angry.

"Daijoubu, Tachibana-san," hastily answered Sakuno, "I can stay at Tomo-chan's house."

"Saa, then are we all set?" asked Fuji. Everyone nodded and rose from their seats and prepared to leave.

"You two," pointed Ryoma, "Stay over there for a moment. I'll be with you in a moment." The sisters nodded their heads as he walked over to his former senpai-tachi.

"Be careful Echizen!" warned Momo, "You never know when they can seduce you!"

"Nya, Ochibi! Don't abandon Sakuno-chan, ok?" ensured Eiji.

"Saa, Echizen, make sure not to seduce any of the girls yourself," Fuji said in an amusing tone. Echizen growled at the tensai before realizing that he was being fret over by the motherly hen.

"Oh please be careful, Echizen. We don't need anymore of this stuff, or any complicated problems. Watch out, ok?" Oishi said in a hasty tone.

"Umm…look out, ok Echizen?" Kawamaru murmured as he scratched the back of his head.

"Fssshhh…" hissed Kaidoh.

"80 percent that he won't leave Ryuzaki alone, and 20 percent that he will enjoy his stay with the two girls," conceived Inui.

"Don't let down your guard," the stoic captain stated seriously. Echizen turned towards his ex-buchou and nodded.

Meanwhile, the girls were also advising Sakuno to be careful.

"If my Aniki doesn't call you everyday, call me and I'll give him a good punch in the nose!" cried Rila, pounding her fists together.

"Don't worry, Sakuno-chan," said Kate, "Echizen will never abandon you, grrrr."

"You know Sakuno," started Kilinia, "If you have any troubles…"

"Don't hesitate to call us!" continued Keliana, "We're here for you!" The rest of the girls nodded as Sakuno smiled back at them.

"Arigatou, minna-san!" thanked Sakuno as she bowed to her girl friends.

After the two separate discussions, Echizen and Sakuno bade their goodbyes.

"Promise me that you'll call me every night or so?" asked Sakuno.

"Hai, Sakuno," reassured Ryoma coolly.

"Be careful then, Ryoma-kun," advised Sakuno as she stepped into his limo and waved to him, "Ja ne, Anata!" Soon the vehicle drove off towards each house one by one to drop off the couples.

Echizen closed the door behind him and walked towards the two sisters, "Now you two have a seat and I'll explain the rules." They did as they were told and waited for Ryoma to speak again.

He breathed heavily, closing his eyes. He felt unsure of his actions, but he did them anyway, "One: Call me whatever you want. I hate suffixes and all that. Two: Don't touch anything personal here. Three: You're responsible for whatever you do. Four: Don't go stealing my money and fortune. Five: Make yourselves at home. Now go do whatever."

Ritsuko and Riko stared at each other for a moment before nodding and agreeing with her birthday present. They stood up and walked out of the living room towards the driveway to pick up their things from home.

Echizen watched the two drive off in their car, mostly inspecting Ritsuko. He shook his head wildly before heading back upstairs.

_This is going to be a very long two months._

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Owari_  
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**A/N:** What do you think about this chapter? I thought everything out perfectly while I was walking around the dining room table. I'll be updating soon, because I have two other stories to do! Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!


	3. Chapter Five: Scraping the Surface

July 12, 2007 to July 16, 2007 (REFORMATTED May 1, 2010)

**Disclaimers:** I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis and the wives of the regulars and such are Lifeless-heart's.  
**Summary: **Echizen Ryoma is now married, and he is ready to have a kid with Ryuzaki Sakuno. But what happens when some things just go terribly wrong? And what's with this extra person? Enjoy! _And don't forget to review please!_

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_Chapter Five: Scraping the Surface  
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**Ritsuko and Riko stared at each other for a moment before nodding and agreeing with her birthday present. They stood up and walked out of the living room towards the driveway to pick up their things from home.**

**Echizen watched the two drive off in their car, mostly inspecting Ritsuko. He shook his head wildly before heading back upstairs.**

_**This is going to be a very long two months.**_

The limo that belonged to Echizen Ryoma made constant stops at each couple's houses, screeching as the driver pulled the brakes with full force and causing the pairs to fall off their seats inside. The last stop was where Echizen Ryuzaki Sakuno would be staying, or rather at her friend's house, Osakada Tomoka.

This loudmouth girl in Seishun Gakuen Academy was once a fan of the Ryoma-sama Fan Club, and probably still was. She still pestered the man from time to time, but rightfully knew that he belonged to her best friend. She was always so cheerful and bright, yet so worrying and caring for her friends. Sakuno was indeed lucky to have her as a friend.

"Arigatou-gozaimasu, jii-san," thanked Sakuno as the driver stepped out of the car and rushed over to aid the pregnant woman out of the vehicle, smiling, "You've been a wonderful driver."

"Iie, Sakuno-san," said the driver as he blushed at the sight of the cute smile that Ryuzaki had on. He bowed to her before driving off in the limo.

"Well, here goes," breathed the woman as her fingers pressed the doorbell. There was a pause before the machine was answered, "Osakada Residence desu! And you are?"

"Tomo-chan! It's me, Sakuno, Ryuzaki Sakuno desu!" she replied.

"Ah, Sakuno! You're here!" cried Osakada as she rushed to open the door and welcome in her best friend. Once Sakuno took a step inside her house, she was hugged and nearly squeezed to death by her pal.

"Kya! Sakuno-chan, I missed you so much!" she squealed, squeezing her harder and harder every second.

"T-tomo-chan…can't b-breathe," she panted, hoping that her friend heard her.

"Ah, gomen Sakuno!" quickly apologized Tomo-chan as she released her arms and smiled apologetically. Then she bent down and softly tapped the stomach, "Neh, Sakuno…how's the baby coming?"

"Wonderful, just wonderful," she answered, "And Tomo-chan, do you mind if I stay with you for a while? It's going to be about two months, but I really need it."

"Why not? I'd love to have someone like you staying over at my place," she said, "But why? And what about Ryoma-sama?"

"Eto-o, that's a long story, Tomo-chan. So if you don't mind showing me a room to stay in and having a cup of tea, may we move the luggage please?" Sakuno requested.

"Sure!" Tomoka replied, carrying one of her bags and walking upstairs. She turned her head around and checked, "You need any help down there, Sakuno?"

"If-f you don't mind at all, T-tomo-chan," squeaked back the woman downstairs.

Osakada could only chuckle to herself before trotting back down to carry another piece of luggage, "You're still the same as usual, Sakuno-chan!"

**At the Lyanstz's Apartment**

The door swung open as the two women breathed in the air of their own apartment and sighed happily. Immediately they headed towards a bedroom in which they shared, fished out some bags and began stuffing in random things.

"Nee-san," called the younger Lyanstz, "I hope you like Echizen Ryoma."

The older Lyanstz could only smile at her sister affectionately and say, "I really do like him. I'm sure that he is a very wonderful and nice person inside."

"Do you want to marry him?" teased Riko as she chuckled to herself.

Ritsuko could only blush at the word 'marry' and she turned her head away from her sibling, "I can't do that! That'd be wrong, because he's already married…and that's like…"

"Seducing?" sing-sung the other, as she leapt onto her bed and lied on it with her stomach on the mattress, rustling out some things from under.

Once again she blushed and hastily packed her clothes into a drawer. Ritsuko was always a very neat person, and yet for her to squish her clothes messily into one bag was quite strange. Noticing this, her younger sister took the advantage to tease her again.

"Nee-san, you're packing awfully fast. And messy too. Something wrong?" she gave a devilish smile, waiting for a response.

"B-betsuni, Riko-chan," she answered as she dumped out her entire bag and neatly began folding the clothes. Her hands were trembling as she folded her shirts together, and now Riko knew that she had gone slightly over the edge.

"Nee-san," said Riko, "Don't worry, I'm only teasing."

"I know," she sighed, quite exasperated.

"But if you want Echizen Ryoma that badly, I will get him for you. I promise," she promised as she held her sister's trembling hands, "Even if he is married, he can always divorce and go to another woman."

"Doesn't that seem…wrong?" she questioned with her head low and her voice uncertain.

"If Echizen-san likes you, he can always change. People can change their futures before it is too late you know," advised Riko, "If his heart desires you, then he can always abandon that arrogant jerk who slapped me in the face…" she growled as she placed one of her hands onto her cheek.

Slowly, her sister's hands cupped her face and she smiled, "Arigatou, Riko-chan. Your words of wisdom are always great. But promise me that you'll always be my sister even if Echizen-kun rejects me, and never try to push yourself hard even if I don't get what I want?"

"I promise," agreed Riko as she touched her sister's warm hands. She smiled and said, "But Nee-san, don't you think that you should get a husband already? You're twenty-seven and just the perfect age for Echizen Ryoma." She gave a chesire grin and smiled deviously at her sister.

"R-riko-chan!" yelped the older one as she slapped her on the back, and the two burst into small fits of laughter.

**At the Osakada Residence**

"Ahh, so that's how it is," said Tomoka as she stirred her cup with the tea bag, while she busily paid attention to her friend's story.

"So, sorry about all this hustle, Tomo-chan," bowed and apologized Ryuzaki.

"Sakuno, daijoubu! You can stay here as long as you want. I'll make sure that Ryoma-sama will call you everyday, and that he will come back to you!" energetically comforted the former Ryoma-sama Fan Club President, jumping out of her seat on the couch and raising a hand in victory.

Sakuno could only sweat drop at the sight of her friend, but then giggled. It was always wonderful to have a friend like Osakada Tomoka stay by your side and support you. "Arigatou, Tomo-chan."

It was just then that her cell phone began chiming for attention, "Ring-ring." Jumping at the sudden noise, Sakuno managed to fish out her phone and answered, "Moshi moshi?"

"Sakuno, have you arrived at Osakada's yet?" questioned a certain someone.

"Anata!" she cried happily, and her friend quickly rushed over and placed her ear close to the phone, hoping to hear some parts of the conversation.

The husband could only smirk before talking back, "You still haven't answered my question."

Ryuzaki could only blush and stammer in reply, "H-hai, I'm at T-tomo-chan's."

"That's good, and don't stutter so much," once again he smirked even though his wife couldn't see it before continuing, "And I can see you blushing."

Hearing this, the woman could not help but blush into a darker complexion while her friend whistled lowly. Taking a deep breath before continuing their conversation, she asked, "How have you been?"

Echizen, on the other side, shrugged his shoulders and said, "I sent them away to get their things and come back once they're done packing. They haven't come yet though."

"Ah, souka? Daijoubuka? Nothing bad happened?"

"No, just fine here. I'll call later then?"

"Hai, be careful, Anata," gently warned Sakuno.

"Of course, ja," Ryoma ended his call, leaving his wife quite confused with a puzzled look.

"Kakoii, Sakuno-chan! Ryoma-sama still sounds the same!" squealed Tomoka as she jumped in her seat bouncily. Noticing the glum expression on her friend's face, she stopped bouncing, firmly placed her hands on the couch edge and asked warily, "Sakuno? Something wrong?"

Her companion could only nod slowly and seemingly reluctantly, and her eyes began to water, tears ready to spill out.

"I just miss Anata already…" whispered the woman hoarsely, "And what about this baby? I'm just scared, being alone…what if the baby dies…" At the verge of tears, she could not help but to hold back anymore. Water began trickling down her face and causing spills on the couch.

"Daijoubu, Sakuno-chan. I'll be there for you forever," comforted Tomoka as she wrapped her arms tightly. Her friend buried her face onto her friend's shoulder and cried nonstop, hiccupping and clenching the fabric of the couch tightly as more tears rolled down onto the furniture.

"Daijoubu…"

**At the Echizen Household**

Echizen sat lazily on the loveseat, playing around with the cell phone. Tossing it onto a table with exact precision, he got up and walked to the kitchen to quench his thirst with his all time favorite drink, THE Ponta.

As he entered the culinary room, there was a heavy atmosphere that brought him down. He opened the refrigerator door to notice that there wasn't the slightest sound of cooking at all. Not the sizzle of fried fish, or the fine fragrance of rice boiling in the rice cooker, or the clatter of several pots and pans being used, or the delightful smell of sautéed vegetables, or the shuffles of steps that Sakuno would hurriedly make in order to multitask. He couldn't help but to chuckle at the sight of his wife before returning to his gloomy and lost state.

His trail of thought was interrupted by the sound from the doorbell, which rang loudly. Leaving the refrigerator door open he walked towards the door to find the two women on his front door step.

"What are you doing here? And who are you?" he asked, bewildered at the sight.

"Nani! You forgot us already, Echizen Ryoma? And I won you as a birthday present for Nee-san from an auction bid, baka!" Riko cried helplessly as she shoved the contract in front of his face. At that moment his mind clicked.

"Oh," he yawned and spoke at the same time, covering his mouth, "You two. Come in then." He widened the door space and somewhat cordially allowed them inside.

"You two will share a room," he said as he walked to the kitchen, his back facing the guests, "First room on your right. Make yourselves at home." At this point, Echizen had to holler in order for them to hear.

Locking the door behind them, they trudged upstairs and entered their destined room for the next two months. It was a pretty large room, although empty, with the exception of a curtained window, two beds with blankets and mattresses, a writing desk with a lamp, a clock on the wall, and an empty chest drawer.

"So nice of Echizen-kun," said Ritsuko as she made her way to one of the beds and slowly began unpacking. Her sister followed suit, leaping onto the bed like a belly flop and hastily throwing her things out of her bags.

"Nee-san!" hurriedly spoke Riko, "I'm going to take a shower, OK?"

"Hai!" cheerfully answered her sister as she watched her sibling run off into the hallways happily. _Riko-chan must really love being spoiled_. She smiled at that thought and proceeded downstairs when she spotted Echizen sipping on his Ponta while leaning on his loveseat.

She blushed and thought, _I forgot that Echizen-kun was here! I don't know what to do…with Riko-chan showering, I'm pretty much done for…_ She remembered what her younger sister had wisely said to her, and she took deep breaths before making her way into the living room.

Twiddling her fingers nervously and looking down at her feet, she stopped, a few feet away from Echizen. She took another deep breath and closed her eyes, _I can do this, I can do this…_

"Oi, if you have something to say, then say it."

Hearing the voice, she looked up to stare wide-eyed at the tennis prince. He was casually tilting his chair and drinking the can. His Adam's Apple bobbed as he chugged more and more of his favorite fluid source. After a few moments, he turned his head and found himself staring at her.

She blushed and turned away, mumbling "Never mind." As she took the first step up, she tripped on her slippers and fell backwards. _Oh god, I just tripped in front of Echizen-kun!_

She closed her eyes tightly and wrapped herself with her own arms, waiting for the hard contact with the floor. But it never came. Instead, she felt something wrap around her, something different and had a snaky but warm feeling to it. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see a pair of golden-like feline eyes staring back at her.

She at once felt nervous with the distance between her and her birthday present, who was holding her in his arms. Echizen, with his fast reflexes, had noticed that one of his guests were about to fall backwards, and quickly sped towards her to safely catch her in his arms. She felt the hot breath that tickled her face, and with that said, she quietly murmured something and turned beet red.

"Hn, Lyanstz, mada mada dane."

Echizen Ryoma could only smirk at the woman before gently placing her back on her feet. Quickly she brushed her long skirt off and turned her attention away from the man. Whispering a barely audible thanks, she sluggishly went back upstairs when a growl sounded the large hallway, still red about his trademark phrase.

"Che. Stupid stomach," growled the owner as he walked back into the living room and comfortably settled back into his original position, sipping his Ponta.

"Ano-o, I could cook dinner for the three of us," stuttered the woman, who was halfway up the stairs. There was no response from the man, but she slowly made her way back down and headed towards the kitchen.

Upstairs, Riko had just finished taking her shower. She called for her sister, although she wasn't there, "Nee-san! It's your turn!" She heard nothing, so she went downstairs to check and found the man laying on the chair in the living room.

"Echizen-san, have you seen Nee-san?" she asked, staring at the person who was now napping with the Ponta still ins hand. She shook her head hopelessly. _This is the worst birthday present I ever got Nee-san_.

Surprisingly however, he lifted his hand and pointed in the direction of the kitchen. The twenty-four-year-old woman could see her older sister preparing dinner. She smiled and throwing the towel onto the couch, Riko went to help her sister with any cooking.

Echizen, who was only pretending to nap, or maybe trying to nap (I don't know…you choose), felt relieved and soothed after his wife's departure. The kitchen was lively and sounded like music to his ears. He could smell the tasty dishes being placed on the wooden table.

"Oi, Echizen-san! Dinner!"

Startled by the call, he shook himself awake and sleepily headed towards the kitchen. He took a seat and mumbled the greeting. He was hungry after all (me too, now that I think about it…) Digging in quickly, he slowly chewed the food made by the Lyanstz. His gloomy and bored expression had a sudden glow to it, and he could only give a smirk to the two sisters.

"It's good, the food."

A happy smile was plastered upon the older sister's face, while the younger one secretly declared success on the first step to herself. Bringing out as much confidence as she could, she smiled her most beautiful one yet and happily said, "Arigatou, Echizen-kun!"

The smile was comforting to his eyes, and somewhere in his mind, his thoughts were beginning to clear out from all the cloudiness. _At least she knows how to cook food_.

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_Owari  
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**A/N:** How'd you like this chapter? OH NO, IS ECHIZEN GOING TO FALL FOR HER?! No, he won't, I assure you that…or not…MWHAHAHA! I'M FULL OF IDEAS FOR THIS STORY! Gomen for the CAPS, just a little excited… Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!


	4. Chapter Six: Lost in Thought

July 17, 2007 to July 19, 2007 (REFORMATTED May 1, 2010)

**Disclaimers:** I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis and the wives of the regulars and such are Lifeless-heart's.  
**Summary: **Echizen Ryoma is now married, and he is ready to have a kid with Ryuzaki Sakuno. But what happens when some things just go terribly wrong? And what's with this extra person? Enjoy! _And don't forget to review please!_

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Chapter Six: Lost in Thought  
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"**It's good, the food."**

**A happy smile was plastered upon the older sister's face, while the younger one secretly declared success on the first step to herself. Bringing out as much confidence as she could, she smiled her most beautiful one yet and happily said, "Arigatou, Echizen-kun!"**

**The smile was comforting to his eyes, and somewhere in his mind, his thoughts were beginning to clear out from all the cloudiness. **_**At least she knows how to cook food**_

Two weeks have passed since the time when the Lyanstz sisters first moved into the Echizen Household after the younger one, Lyanstz Riko, won the Echizen Ryoma, tennis professional player and all that, from an auction. Hard to believe, neh?

Firstly, he is irritated by the two people barging into his place. He complains to his wife, Echizen Ryuzaki Sakuno, who is two weeks pregnant, over the phone. After all, the tennis pro did promise to call his wife everyday, and she heartily hears him out and cools down the burning temper of his.

But what happens when you just taste food that is so good, that it reminds you so much of your wife, and yet someone completely different? This has been driving the man crazy, and mostly he spends his time locked up in his room with twenty four cans of Ponta in store to quench his thirst (yes, he loves Ponta _that_ much), laying on his bed, lost in thought. He has too much to think about. Of course, he always makes the occasional and daily calls to his lovely companion.

So the present time and setting for this chapter would be the two weeks after the incident, around evening time, and he's lying on his bed, with one arm over his forehead while the other lies loose, free to roam anywhere he chooses. His eyes are closed, and he breathes real deeply, recalling the significant events that had occurred over these past two weeks.

_**Flashback One: The Fall**_

_**She blushed and turned away, mumbling "Never mind." As she took the first step up, she tripped on her slippers and fell backwards. 'Oh god, I just tripped in front of Echizen-kun!'**_

_**She closed her eyes tightly and wrapped herself with her own arms, waiting for the hard contact with the floor. But it never came. Instead, she felt something wrap around her, something different and had a snaky but warm feeling to it. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see a pair of golden-like feline eyes staring back at her.**_

_**She at once felt nervous with the distance between her and her birthday present, who was holding her in his arms. Echizen, with his fast reflexes, had noticed that one of his guests were about to fall backwards, and quickly sped towards her to safely catch her in his arms. She felt the hot breath that tickled her face, and with that said, she quietly murmured something and turned beet red.**_

"_**Hn, Lyanstz, mada mada dane."**_

Just remembering that flashback made him turn a little red at first, and he shook his head violently to put it away. Recalling that he said that trademark phrase of his added fifty years to his current age of twenty seven years. _That was so stupid of me to say it, it makes me sound as if she were an object and not a human. Momo-chan-senpai drilled too many of his 'love lessons' inside my head, it's making me hurt quite the bit._

And then, there was that compliment he gave the older sister, Lyanstz Ritsuko, about her cooking. Saying that it was good – he could have been the worse judge ever. Maybe it didn't taste as delightful as his wife's usual Japanese cooking, but her alterations of some Japanese to Western food wasn't too bad.

Of course, she had a rule to follow. Western for morning, and Japanese for night. What do you expect? She was raised in America as a Japanese woman, just like Ryoma. Whenever he would take a bite out of the dreadful Western food for breakfast, it seems as if his taste buds had come to a change. _It actually tasted good then those past fifteen years!_ He is certainly unbelievable to fall for such delicacies, to now have a liking to Western food for breakfast.

_**Flashback Two: A Call to Sakuno**_

_**Sakuno, who was resting in her friend's house, Osakada Tomoka, had gotten a phone call from her cell. Quickly reading over the Caller ID, she smiled a tad before flipping it open, "Moshi moshi?"**_

"_**Hey Sakuno, this is Ryoma," casually said Echizen over the phone.**_

"_**Ryoma-kun! How are you?" exclaimed the woman as she shifted her position on the couch and comfortably reclined on it.**_

"_**The usual. Except they know how to cook, and the Western food is pretty good," he said.**_

"_**Ah, souka? Well, I'm doing fine over here to. Tomo-chan is taking care of me, and the baby is doing just fine."**_

"_**Is that so? That's great. When I come back, I'll make sure to give a name for the baby," he said, smirking over the phone.**_

"_**Hai, be careful, Ryoma-kun," she said, smiling.**_

"_**Ja," he called off, and the phone line was disconnected.**_

Now that was quite a strange phone call. Their conversations were usually prolonged and extended, but that certain talk with his wife seemed…well, wrong. It's not that he said anything wrong to her, it was just the fact that the discussion he had was shorter than usual. Nothing to worry about hopefully.

But he **used to have** other things to worry about. Until they were all solved by the two guests he had in his place, and the older one was especially helpful. Number one, he had to keep up with the housework. As a man and a busy tennis professional, he's definitely too tired to move around. He only has the strength to eat, sit on the couch, drink Ponta, use the toilet, and sleep. But Ritsuko managed as well as Sakuno, doing the exact same hard and diligent work his wife would do everyday, with the exception that this woman actually went to work after cooking breakfast, come back to fix dinner, and immediately set to the laundry and cleaning the house spick and span.

It was truly unbelievable. _She's like another Sakuno but different_, he thought. When Echizen realized the fact that Lyanstz was better than Ryuzaki, he jumped right out of bed and shook his Ponta can wildly. The fluid inside bounced in and out of the hole from the can, spilling drops of the sticky drink onto the mush carpet. _Oh great, if Sakuno sees this, she's going to go frenzy over this stain._ He bent down and gave it a quick rub with his slipper before hopping back onto the bed, the Ponta still in his grasps.

Sighing in his bed, Echizen could not help but to just squeeze his free hand tightly. Just rummaging through his head full of that woman and the occurrences with her made him feel even worse than the match he had with a hundred-something point tiebreak with Atobe Keigo. Sometimes, he felt relieved that tennis was not as complicated as women and love. But if he had openly said that to his wife, she of course would be hurt, so it was a good thing he wasn't very opened to his companion at times.

Then there's number two, which was the fact of calling apart the two Lyanstz sisters. Remembering women's first name was already hard enough for him, especially when he just managed to get the hang of calling his wife "Sakuno" instead of "Ryuzaki". If he had to fit more information of two first names including his wife and his ex-senpai-tachi's wives, or rather his god brother and sister-in-laws, his head would certainly explode. It was more than difficult enough copying his opponent's tennis techniques. Tennis was much, and MUCH easier than women and love.

_**Flashback Three: Names**_

_**It had been irritating him for so long. Two sisters with the same blood and last names, but way different personalities. And yet, addressing them by 'you' or 'hey' or 'oi' was a little too excessive. He had gotten so used to their presence it were as if the pair was his blood relatives or something.**_

_**But thanks to his wife's little lectures of manners and being polite, he could only sigh in his seat and watch the older sister cook. The way that she moved around so elegantly, the smile of accomplishment and achievement on her face was so astounding, and he could not help but to picture her as both Sakuno and Lyanstz. His head began to hurt, and he slapped himself on the forehead with the palm of his hand.**_

_**As she set down the plates and eating utensils on the table, he carefully observed her delicate, pale-colored hands and fingers. 'If I could touch them, then there would be a soft and nice complexion to it,' he thought, then kicking himself in the shin as a reminder not to 'seduce' or get attracted to the woman, just as his ex-senpai-tachi had advised. Oh boy, it was really hard to cope around with since he was living with such a miracle worker.**_

"_**Ano, Echizen-kun, dinner is ready," gently reminded Lyanstz as she walked to the kitchen counter and began filling the rice bowls. He quickly snapped back to reality and speculated the female and coughed.**_

"_**Oi, Lyanstz, can you tell me your first name?"**_

_**She could only turn around and stare at him in disbelief when he had asked her that question, the rice bowl still in her hand while the other hand was holding the large rice spoon. Sucking in her breath, she timidly ensured, "My first name?"**_

"_**Ah," was the blunt response as he closed his eyes and sipped the Ponta (wherever it came from) lightly.**_

"_**Uhh, Ritsuko," she answered, turning back to filling the last rice bowl and setting it on the table, "Why do you ask?"**_

"_**No reason, Ritsuko," he said as he finished his can of Ponta and threw it perfectly into the trash can. She could feel the blood run into her head, her face really red. But then she gave out a playful and exasperated smile and quite confidently pointed out, "There's a reason for every answer you know, Echizen-kun."**_

"_**Apparently, I don't want to say it. Got your reason?"**_

_**She smiled brightly and chuckled, "Of course, Ryoma-san."**_

"_**Hn," he said, and he got out of his chair only to bump into the younger sister. Smirking at her, he teased and meaningfully declared, "And you, from now on I'll call you baka Lyanstz."**_

"_**OI!"**_

Well, that covered his second problem. Just from learning their names (or rather giving them names), he learned quite the bit about them. And it was actually easy to remember this time, but he had no reason why. Maybe because it felt good, the way he could say her name so freely.

And his last problem, well, was how to cope with the female. Though very busy, at times, instead of drinking his Ponta or taking a nap, he would eye her continuously, and turn his attention away from her is she were to look. It was as if he longed for her, but that was wrong, wasn't it?

Frustrated out of his mind, he jumped off his bed and walked towards the closet. Retrieving his tennis bag and white Fila cap, he shut the door behind him and headed downstairs to the door.

As he grabbed the handle to wrench it open, a voice intervened.

"Ryoma-kun, where are you going?" she asked shyly and softly.

He tugged his cap downwards and looked away, replying, "Tennis, Ritsuko." He opened the door and closed it behind him, and inside the household was only a click.

"Itterashai, Ryoma-kun," bid the woman, as she smiled and watched through the window as her birthday present casually strolled down the path and out of the Echizen property.

_When did time fly so fast…and when did I…start falling for her?_

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Owari  
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**A/N:** This was rather a flashback chapter because I'm too lazy to write out everything that happened. And Echizen realizes that he fell for Ritsuko, but what about Sakuno?! What will be his shocking decision? And what is the mysterious past of the Lyanstz's? Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!


	5. Chapter Seven: Realization

July 20, 2007 to July 23, 2007 (REFORMATTED May 1, 2010)

**Disclaimers:** I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis and the wives of the regulars and such are Lifeless-heart's.  
**Summary:** Echizen Ryoma is now married, and he is ready to have a kid with Ryuzaki Sakuno. But what happens when some things just go terribly wrong? And what's with this extra person? Enjoy! And don't forget to review please!

**WARNING: THIS IS ONE SIDED, BUT THEN IT BECOMES BETTER. TRUST ME. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO, YOU DON'T HAVE TO.**

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Chapter Seven: Realization_  
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**"Ryoma-kun, where are you going?" she asked shyly and softly.**

**He tugged his cap downwards and looked away, replying, "Tennis, Ritsuko." He opened the door and closed it behind him, and inside the household was only a click.**

"**Itterashai, Ryoma-kun," bid the woman, as she smiled and watched through the window as her birthday present casually strolled down the path and out of the Echizen property.**

_**When did time fly so fast…and when did I…start falling for her?**_

"Nee-san! I'm heading out to my friend's place! You don't have to make me any dinner," cried Riko as she made her way to the doorway, grabbing the keys off the table next to it before opening and slamming the door behind her.

"Hai, itterashai!" said Ritsuko in the kitchen, shouting as loud as she could while she flipped the frying pan. As the eggs crackled and sizzled, she sighed and removed a plate set from the table mat and carefully arranged it back into the cupboards.

Sighing to herself, she began looking out the translucent window to find that the evening sky was beginning to approach the horizon. The sky emitted a red and orange glow while the wispy clouds were slowly disappearing into nothing. _It's nearly two months, and the deadline is near. I haven't even done anything right like Riko-chan said._

Setting the eggs on two separate plates and quickly assembling the dinner for tonight, her actions were quicker and accurate than usual. She was indeed focused, not for the reason of cooking the best Japanese that _the_ Echizen Ryoma would ever taste from, but because…she needed to do something first.

She took out some plastic wrapping from the drawer and covered the dinner plate of food and stuck it into the fridge. Filling a bowl with rice and setting it on the table, she clapped her hands in success, and soon her motions slowed down and were much weaker.

At that exact moment, the man entered the kitchen. Noticing his presence, she looked away and turned her back on him, quietly saying, "Dinner's ready. Eat without me." Walking off to the back of the kitchen and up the stairs, she silently went to the second floor and closed the door to her temporary room.

"Hn," came the blunt response as he slumped onto his chair. Eying the staircase with caution, Echizen slowly picked up his pair of chopsticks and stuck a large piece of white rice into his mouth.

However, his appetite was not big that evening. Although he had just awaken from his nap after tennis practice, and was usually very hungry, his stomach did not have the room to stuff the delicious food. Setting down his chopsticks onto the table, he pushed himself out from his seat and wandered off into the living room, leaving the steaming rice bowl and plate of tasty food sitting on the table as it slowly cooled off.

**At the Osakada Resident**

Twenty-seven-year-old Ryuzaki Sakuno pondered to herself, soothingly relaxing on the rocking chair as she gently rubbed the round stomach. _Just a little more time before you are born, my dear._

Smiling as she got up from her seat, Sakuno paced herself towards the kitchen. Although her movements were a little sluggish, it was necessary to be extra careful around the newborn. Pouring a cup of tea and lagging her body to move back to the couch, she finally sighed in relief and relaxed herself on the soft and comfortable pillows and leather couch.

_Now that I think about, Ryoma-kun hasn't called for quite a while_, thought Ryuzaki as she jerked her head upwards to face the ceiling. _His calls are lesser now, and not on a daily basis…oh, it's probably because Anata has tennis and band all the time_. She looked at her cell continuously only to find that it hadn't rang in a week and a half.

Sighing in anxiety, she eyed at the pink device that lay still on the table. _Anata, what has gotten into you?_ Sakuno forced herself out of the couch and dragged herself towards the front door, locking it as she went out.

**At the Echizen Household**

Echizen lazily sat on the couch as he scratched a pen on his head, his brows furrowed. How was he going to figure out the next theme for the band to practice and play? They all used up ideas from the most common ones (such as love, friendship, loneliness) to the most exotic subjects (there were oh yes, elephants and hamburgers, and don't forget pickles). He scratched his head continuously as the motion of the pen increased in speed.

Throwing the writing utensil onto the table after his head itched of pain, he slept on the sofa and threw an arm over his eyes, breathing heavily. He began to wander in his mind, recapping all the events and incidents that took place in the nearly entire two months. The two guests that he had gotten used to their presence, the Lyanstz sisters, were about to depart back to their separate lives. And something, just something, did not feel right at all.

He felt as if had forgotten something very important, as if something were missing inside of him. And yet, another part of him felt joyous and blissful. The fact that he had been given an opportunity to meet such people, who were able to fill in the torn gap he once had, the fact that he had been skeptical about the auction bid, was actually a good one (to him, at least). Now that the two were leaving, the insides of him felt so empty, even emptier than before.

A voice interrupted his thoughts, and startled him a bit.

"May I speak with you, Ryoma-kun?"

He struggled himself up from his lying position on the furniture and turned his head to see the older sister, the woman who resembled so much of her, standing modestly and yet, her eyes were full of confidence, and she glowed of certainty.

"Hn," he said, shifting into a sitting position and making room for her to sit. She shyly sat next to him, although they were at the ends of the couch **(A/N: whew!)**

"I just wanted to confess something," she began, as her hands became numb, and she shivered all over. Her voice was croaky and shaky, but the eyes that he had stared at before still gave off that confidence she had within herself.

"It's ok if you don't accept this or not, but I want to start by saying thank you," Ritsuko continued, "You helped me gain back the confidence I had once lost, and made a suitable environment for my younger sister and I to live in."

Now he was really confused. Since when did he help strangers gain back something? _Confidence she had once lost?_ he wondered silently, and looked intently on that woman to explain.

And so, she began to explain everything that happened before.

_**Flashback: Ritsuko's Past**_

"_**Emiko-chan! How was the date with Ishotori-senpai?" called the second year high schooler Lyanstz Ritsuko, waving her hand to grab the attention of her friend, Kanazuki Emiko.**_

"_**Ah, Rit-chan! Ohayou-gozaimasu!" waved back Emiko, putting on a friendly face and stopping her tracks to wait for her friend to catch up.**_

_**Ritsuko managed to catch up to her friend, and she breathed heavily, her hands on her knees, "Emiko-chan! You walk too fast to school!"**_

_**Her friend could only laugh and tease at her, "That's what you get for not being physically active!"**_

"_**Mou, Emiko-chan!" she whined back, slightly pouting.**_

"_**Ok, ok, I'll stop," finished Kanazuki, then directing Lyanstz to the school doors, "Let's get to class before sensei takes attendance."**_

"_**Hai," meekly replied Ritsuko, as she got up and briskly followed Emiko, "So, how was it? Ishotori-senpai?"**_

_**Her companion blushed at the sound of her senpai and could only look away, "It was ok."**_

_**Ritsuko was not satisfied and she only egged her friend on, "Come on, Emiko-chan! Details! I want to hear everything you did!"**_

_**Emiko faced her friend with a glum expression. At first, she could only worry since her appearance was ominous. But then, she gave a cheesy smile and laughed, "You should have seen how you looked, Rit-chan!"**_

_**Lyanstz pouted and slapped her on the back, "Come on, E-chan! Spill it!"**_

"_**All right, I'll tell you as we go then," finalized Kanazuki as they walked through the bustling hallways of the school, chattering off about the date.**_

_**In the classroom, before their teacher arrived, Ritsuko could only widen her eyes and gasp in amazement and surprise.**_

"_**Wah, E-chan! You went as far as kissing and hugging?!"**_

"_**Umm," answered her companion as she squealed in her seat. The two "sisters" were always sitting next to each other in everything, no matter the circumstances. "It was so hot and nice and all that! Senpai was all cuddly and forceful yet so gentle and passionate!" Her eyes sparkled in awe, her hands clasped together as her mind wandered off to dreamland.**_

_**Ritsuko could only eye her friend in jealousy before complaining to herself quietly, "E-chan is so lucky. I don't even have anybody I'm interested, or anybody interested in me." She sighed hopelessly and began looking out the window.**_

_**Snapping back to reality, Emiko called the attention of her friend and comforted her, "Rit-chan! You must never give up! I'm sure there's somebody who likes you!"**_

"_**Yea," said Ritsuko, "Like who?"**_

"_**Uhhh," thought aloud the other second year high schooler as she rubbed her chin. Suddenly she had finally gotten the perfect person in mind, "Jesse-san! Yea, him!"**_

_**Lyanstz felt hot in her face when her friend mentioned "Jesse". Noticing this, Emiko could only laugh and admonished her, "Rit-chan! Don't go changing your minds like that now!"**_

_**Rit-chan could only glare at E-chan menacingly. After a few seconds, the two burst into fits of laughter, unaware of the roll call announced by their sensei.**_

"_**Lyanstz! Kanazuki! Half an hour of detention after school!"**_

_**After Detention**_

"_**Ja ne, Rit-chan! I have to go meet up with Ishotori! He promised to wait for me and I don't want him to become impatient and all!" waved good-bye Emiko, as she turned her back before sprinting off to meet up with her boyfriend.**_

"_**Hai, ja ne, E-chan!" called back Lyanstz, waving her hand before sluggishly returning it back to her side. She sighed and thought of all the good things that happened to her friend and the bad encounters that she herself had faced when she collided into someone's back without knowing. Falling onto the ground, she got up and dusted herself clean, and felt an aching pain on her ankle.**_

"_**Oww, that hurts," she murmured before trying to walk off, only to find herself collapsing again. She rubbed her ankle soothingly before noting a hand sticking out in front of her.**_

"_**Ah, arigatou," she thanked the mysterious person as she accepted the hand gratefully. She was pulled up and managed to stand on her foot for a while without tumbling back down to the hard pavement.**_

"_**Itaii! Stupid leg," Lyanstz scolded to her leg. Then she heard a soft chuckle above her. Looking upwards, she gasped in surprise and turned red in her entire face.**_

"_**Hollis-san!" she exclaimed. 'What the heck am I thinking, talking to my own leg?'**_

_**Hollis Jesse only smirked at her and helped her up. "Want me to walk you home?"**_

"_**Ah, but my house is so far from here!" she rejected, frantically waving her hands back and forth in front of her.**_

"_**Doesn't matter," he said as she grabbed her arm and wrapped it over his shoulders, "I'll walk slowly, so tell me where to go."**_

_**Ritsuko could only blush and let her mind wander for a bit. Shaking her head, she began instructing him how to get back.**_

_**Her heart thumped wildly, excited and yet afraid of her classmate that was carrying her home. She felt quite shameful to do stupid things here and there in front of him, especially when they were very close (let's say, 2 inches apart?). Did she really like the Hollis Jesse, who moved into their school two months ago from England, was a talented violinist, a regular on the basketball team, and did fairly well in all his classes, especially English and Pre-Calculus. All the girls wanted him for his looks, fame, and money, but he had rejected them all since he thought they were all annoying and pestering as flies and mosquitoes.**_

_**Breaking the silence, his voice startled her, "You know, you're the only one who doesn't babble her mouth off when a girl is near me like those other females."**_

_**Quite angry at his comment, she mumbled, "I'll take that as a compliment." He laughed at her and poked her in the head with his left hand, "And you're the easiest to converse with."**_

_**Blushing at the positive compliment, she smiled to herself. The two began to talk more freely on their way home, not minding their surroundings or the rumors that would soon be spreading around tomorrow in school.**_

_**At last, the two reached the Lyanstz residence, and he pressed the doorbell for her. As they waited for someone to come and open the door, she thanked him.**_

"_**Arigatou-gozaimasu, Hollis-san!" she bowed with her head instead of her entire body, and he understood as he nodded and replied, "It was nothing. And call me Jesse or whatever."**_

_**Taken aback by his sudden order, she looked at him in surprise and stuttered, "Uh, sure, Jesse-kun."**_

_**He smiled at her and patted her on the head with his left, "That's good, 'Ritsuko'." He smirked at her and turned his head away to face the door, which opened right at that moment.**_

"_**Nee-san!" cried the younger sister, Lyanstz Riko, who was in her second year of middle school. "What happened to you! And who is this boy here!"**_

_**Her older sister could only chuckle and laugh at her sibling, "Riko-chan, this is my friend, Hollis Jesse. He's my…uh…"**_

"_**Boyfriend," he finished, smirking again.**_

"_**Kawaii!" squealed the Riko, who ran around in circles in her place at the doorway, "Nee-san has a boyfriend, eeeeekkk!"**_

_**The two high students chuckled to themselves, watching her sister run around crazily.**_

_**And on the next day of school, it was officially announced that Lyanstz Riko and Hollis Jesse were going out.**_

_**At the End of the Year**_

"_**Emiko-chan! Help me find Jesse-kun!" ordered Ritsuko as she swam through the crowd, hoping to spot a certain person.**_

_**Her friend, Kanazuki Emiko, looked anxiously at her companion before hesitating to speak, "Coming, Rit-chan!" She proceeded to follow her friend and after two hours of searching, Lyanstz hung her head in disappointment and sat herself on a bench outside of the school.**_

"_**Where is Jesse-kun? He said he would be graduating with us to the third year!" she cried, pounding a fist on her thigh. Emiko placed a hand on her shoulder and comforted her.**_

"_**Ano, Rit-chan. There's something I need to tell you."**_

_**Ritsuko faced her friend, tears ready to spill out of her eyes. She took in deep breaths and asked hesitantly, "What is it that you want to tell me, E-chan?"**_

_**Her friend cast her look away and said, "Rit-chan, Jesse-san already has a girlfriend in Hokkaido."**_

"…_**girlfriend…"**_

"…_**girlfriend…"**_

_**Her entire world broke apart and shattered into a million pieces. 'No, Jesse-kun doesn't have a girlfriend. He never said anything about it, no, nothing about having another girlfriend. I was his only girlfriend, it's not true…" Tears streamed down her face, and she wailed loudly, "IT'S NOT TRUE, NO! IT'S NOT TRUE! HE ONLY LOVED ME! HE SAID HE ONLY LOVED ME!"**_

"_**Rit-chan…" started her friend, trying to reach out to her, but Ritsuko only bolted off out of the school grounds.**_

"_**JESSE HOW COULD YOU?! YOU PROMISED THAT WE WOULD BE TOGETHER FOREVER!"**_

_**As she ran, leaving her friend behind in a frozen state, the tears fell out of her eyes non stop, and she continued to run, never knowing where she would end up. She was over with boys for the rest of her life.**_

"And that's why, after meeting you, I feel much better," finished Ritsuko, determinedly staring at the man. He looked at her with a normal and usual expression, but she wasn't able to read the thoughts on his mind. Sighing, she turned away and clenched her fists tightly, and she continued to shake all over.

"Even though you gave me confidence to put my trust in males again, I am still quite uncertain about this feeling I have," she said. "So if you don't mind listening, Ryoma…"

Ryoma. Just saying that name brought music to his ears. He felt weird and drifted off into his own thoughts, not paying attention to any of her explanation.

_I feel something for her too, but is it all right? What about the baby? What about the band? What about tennis? What about Sakuno? Will she accept my decision? But most important of all, will __she_ _be able to handle it?_

"…I love you."

He jerked his head to face the woman, his eyes widening in disbelief. No, Kami-sama, this couldn't be happening. Did the older sister, Lyanstz Ritsuko, confessed and said that she loved _him_? It was impossible, a dream that couldn't possibly come true. But inside of him, his emotions began to swell and build up, and he couldn't take it anymore. He could only breathe slowly, taking in and out deep breaths of air.

He was at a loss of words just staring at the female in front of him, who was sitting at the other end of the seat. It felt as if…she were going far, far away. And yet, he could not come to say that to her, in front of her, at the moment. He didn't know how to respond to her feelings, the feelings he had towards her. He did not want to hurt the human being, because inside of him, he concluded that she was one of those special women who suffered more than he did.

What he suffered was the choice of choosing his wife. Now his entire perspective changed. He maybe found someone new, completely different, someone that he could comfort and slowly help recover for the rest of his life. He now had a firm decision, something he could finally do for that "special" someone.

When he had wed Ryuzaki Sakuno, he couldn't really do anything for her. She always watched over the house, did the housework, and supported him. All he did was…well, he couldn't think exactly. But Sakuno always answered the same thing every time he asked a question similar to that one.

"Ah, Anata. You've done a lot for me. You are my inspiration, and you always support me along the way. You are my lovely husband, Echizen Ryoma." After that, she would smile at him the most peaceful and soothing one, and he would feel content inside.

Realizing that, he grew confident in his actions and knew exactly what to do. With his wife's muse there to support him, he inched closer towards Lyanstz. She could only blush at the closeness between the two, feeling the trickling, hot breath tickle her neck.

"I love you too, Lyanstz," he replied, and took her into an embrace.

**Outside of the Echizen Household**

"Where is my key…" muttered Ryuzaki to herself as she fished through her purse, and at last, holding up a jingle of keys. She stuck one of them through the keyhole and silently opened the door, hoping not to make a disturbance to the most likely sleeping people.

"Tadai –" her words were cut off by the shocking scene to her left.

_No, it's not true…_

With her own eyes, widening in disbelief and sadness, she saw it.

Her husband, Echizen Ryoma, was hugging her acquaintance, Lyanstz Ritsuko. Ritsuko cried into his chest, clawing his shirt tightly and hiccupping while tears flowed down her face.

And he was hugging her back.

Running out of the house and leaving the door wide open, Sakuno tried her best to get as far away from the place as possible without endangered the newborn. She shouldn't look back, she wouldn't look back, and she couldn't look back.

"Gomenasai, Raya-chan."

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**A/N:** What have I done to poor Sakuno-chan?! Will things stay bleak, or will they turn out to be something better? Stay tuned! Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!


	6. Chapter Eight: Understanding

July 24, 2007 to July 25, 2007 (REFORMATTED May 1, 2010)

**Disclaimers:** I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis and the wives of the regulars and such are Lifeless-heart's.  
**Summary:** Echizen Ryoma is now married, and he is ready to have a kid with Ryuzaki Sakuno. But what happens when some things just go terribly wrong? And what's with this extra person? Enjoy! And don't forget to review please!

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Chapter Eight: Understanding_  
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**Her husband, Echizen Ryoma, was hugging her acquaintance, Lyanstz Ritsuko. Ritsuko cried into his chest, clawing his shirt tightly and hiccupping while tears flowed down her face.**

**And he was hugging her back.**

**Running out of the house and leaving the door wide open, Sakuno tried her best to get as far away from the place as possible without endangering the newborn. She shouldn't look back, she wouldn't look back, and she couldn't look back.**

"**Gomenasai, Raya-chan."**

She ran as far as her legs could carry her. She didn't stop at the Osakada Residence. She didn't stop at her senpai-tachi's houses. She never wanted to stop. All she wanted to do was go far away from this place, to stay far away as possible from him.

No, she never wanted to see him again.

Make that, no, she never wanted to be with him again.

So this was the reason why his phone calls never came as frequent.

So this was the reason why their conversations over the line were shorter than usual.

So this was the reason why he was so distant.

Because he had a different and special person in his mind, or rather his heart.

And that had torn her apart completely.

**At the Echizen Household**

As the two sat still in the embrace, Echizen, his head resting on top of her head, began thinking to himself, making decisions in his head and what to do. It was just then that he noticed the front door was left wide open. His eyes grew as large as saucers, and for some reason, his chest began to tighten, and he knew something was terribly wrong.

Tapping Ritsuko lightly on the shoulder, she slowly moved her head to stare face to face with the man. Giving her an encouraging smile, he said, "I have to go to band practice right now, so maybe you should get some sleep now, Ritsuko."

She only nodded and soon she dragged herself upstairs to the guest room. _It's a good thing she took that as a lie._ He listened carefully for the door to close shut and the switch in the room to be turned off. After a few minutes, he motioned himself to head outside to see the problem, closing the front door and locking it behind him.

Echizen wandered around, hoping to find some sort of cue that would lead him to the problem which he just knew. He just knew that something had occurred while he comforted Ritsuko, but didn't know what. So much for being the one to say "mada mada dane" to everyone who was still behind; he was the one who was being dumb and behind.

As someone who was busy comforting a woman in desperate need and rethinking over his decisions and future, why would he have the time to be searching for the midst of the dilemma? There wasn't really anything important about it, maybe the burglar stole something or walked around the place, or maybe just spied –

Spied?

_Oh Kami-sama_, prayed Ryoma as he made a random turn at a corner, hoping it would not turn out as he thought it would soon…

**At Sakuno's Situation**

Breathing heavily, her feet could not carry anymore. They were too tired to move on any further, if there was any place for her to go, really. She wasn't meant to be the most athletic and fit runner in the world though. She was supposed to be someone's husband, but now that he had someone different on mind, it didn't matter anymore. She would just be nobody, supposedly.

_Maybe I better tell Tomo-chan I'm going to be out tonight_, thought Sakuno. She dug through her purse, only to find that everything was in there…except for her cell phone. Thinking back to where she could have lost it, she began running back to where she started from.

"Must have dropped while I was running with my purse unzipped," she muttered quietly, as she combed around the sidewalk and street, hoping not to run into a certain someone.

**At Echizen's Current Place**

About thirty minutes have passed since he left his house, but he still found nothing. He didn't find anything BIG, compared to finding a mad dog chained to its house that tried to bite his leg off, but still, what could you find if you made random turns here and there?

But he just had to get down to the problem. If he didn't there was something he couldn't do then, and something he couldn't tell. He had to find out the truth of who went into their house and soon left afterwards, afraid that the mysterious suspect had seen him with Ritsuko.

There were also other concerns in his mind. It just didn't concern the suspect, but Ritsuko, her family, his ex-senpai-tachi and their wives, and most important of all, his family. If he didn't make it clear enough to the whole wide world, there was no way he would be living it down.

When he thought that he wouldn't solve this big puzzle at all, he stumbled upon a small device that lay tattered on the ground. Regaining his balance from nearly being sent to the ground, Echizen picked up the item and observed it closely. It had quite the scratches on it, the exterior was pink, and a loose piece of string with a tennis ball as its trinket was wrapped around the antenna. Enclosing his fist which held it tightly, he once again ran off, not knowing where he would end up…or what awaited him.

**At Sakuno's Situation**

"Mou, where is it?" Sakuno asked herself as she bent down again, running her fingers against the coarse and bumpy surface of the walk way. "It has to be here somewhere…" She gradually got herself up to stand again and briskly walked as fast as she could without tiring herself out. She just had to find that cell phone, and it had cost quite a lot too! And there was also her address book, the files she had saved inside, and that trinket which strung around the cell phone's antenna.

Not looking where she was going, she continued on walking, squeaking out from time to time, "Excuse me, please…thank you!", Sakuno bumped into someone, causing her to fall to the ground. _Oh no, the baby!_

Wrapping herself and having her back face the surface, she squeezed her eyes and pursed her lips tightly, waiting for the collision with the hard rock ground. However, she only felt a gap, then two limbs supporting her with an empty space in between, and another gap after it. Slowly opening her eyes, she suddenly trembled in fear and shock, and wished she had never gone back to look for her mobile phone in the first place.

**General POV**

"Daijoubu?" quietly asked the man while his eyes looked elsewhere. He slowly placed the woman back on her feet, only to be returned with the sound of shoes proceeding further and further away from him. He quickly ran after her and grabbed her wrist. She struggled to break free, but he only tightened his grip to the extent of not harming her though.

"Sakuno," he said firmly. She turned her head to come face to face with him.

"What is it, Ryoma-kun…" Ryuzaki trailed off as she looked away again.

"You dropped this," Ryoma said as he took out a mechanical machinery from his pocket. Holding it out to her, she swiftly snatched it and stuffed it back into her accessory bag.

"Arigatou," she thanked silently, and once again she attempted to dash away from him, but his grip did not loosen one bit. It only got tighter, and she winced at that.

There was a long silence between them, with the rushing sound of trotting footsteps traversing to and fro, as well as the screeching brakes and tires that ran over the pavement of the road. The clickety-clack noise of women's heels returning to their respective homes was common among the crowd, as well as the mouthing of many people who talked and talked in their mobiles.

It was quite a while before either of them broke apart the dense atmosphere between them. "Would you like some coffee, Sakuno?" offered Ryoma softly, his head hanging low as his eyes stared into the ground.

She couldn't make a sound, but only nodded at his offer.

**In the Café**

"Two black coffees please, heavy on the cream and light on the sugar," ordered Echizen with the usual expression on his face. The waitress nodded as she scribbled the order quickly, and ran off to the counter, squealing and blushing to herself as she happily made her way there.

"Thank you," Sakuno whispered as she looked to stare out the window. It was a good thing the two of them got seats near the window. Once again, the atmosphere became very quiet and dense between them, and Ryoma tried his best to break the silence.

"So, how is it with Osakada?" he asked, eying her, hoping to get a response.

"It's fine," she answered, "And so is the baby."

The silence haunted them again, and thankfully, the waitress joyfully came back with their order, and she blushed at the sight of the famous band star.

"Thank you for ordering, sir, madam," she said, bowing before skipping to another table.

Sakuno quickly reached out for her mug and cupped her hands around it, warming her fingers. She looked directly at the swirls of the liquid and the steam that hovered in front of her face, and she softly blew them away. Taking in a deep breath, she looked directly at her husband and said, smiling, "It seems as if that waitress recognizes you from the band."

"Hn," he responded as he lifted his cup and sipped some of the hot drink, "Speaking of band practice, I'm stuck on a theme to write about. Any ideas?"

She thought for a moment with her eyes closed, and opened them once she had something in mind, "What about feelings?"

Echizen felt a sudden chill in his spine, and he gulped for a moment before replying, "Narrow it if you don't mind, Sakuno."

She removed the hands from the mug and pushed it aside, then placed an arm on the table while resting her head on the palm of her hand. "Enlighten me, Ryoma. What kind of feeling have you not composed about yet?" Though her voice sounded quite devious, her eyes were filled with anger and sadness.

"Well there's jealously and depression," he pondered, hoping that his ideas would not suggest to it. He had a very good idea who was the suspect now, and yet he didn't want to do it. He just couldn't.

"How about being left out?" suggested Sakuno in his place. His eyes widened, and he looked to the side, hoping that she would not start on it.

"I guess I could compose something about how three people…" started Ryoma, but he couldn't bring himself to finish it. It was too much of a burden for himself, and he didn't want to hurt Sakuno at all.

"Yes, and what else?" she asked earnestly, grabbing the handle of the cup and drinking down some of the black coffee and placing it back onto the table counter.

"Look Sakuno, I'm sorry," he said apologetically, and he looked away into the window, hoping to find something musing to stare at. His eyes moved around the eye sockets, shifting side to side suspiciously. He was nervous now, and the pressure between him and her was just too great for him to handle.

But a pair of warm and soft hands cupped his unintended right hand that lay dead on the table. He trailed his arm down to the hands, and upwards to the owner of it, and he met the chocolate colored, innocent orbs that stared brightly at him. _Her eyes…they look so different now_.

"I should be sorry," she explained, looking away in a worrisome manner, "I've been too harsh on you. I saw you hugging Ritsuko-san, and I know she's only an acquaintance to me, but to you, I'm sure she's very special."

"Sakuno…" he said surprisingly in awe, but she only continued as if she weren't interrupted.

"I understand Ryoma-kun, I do. We are humans, so our hearts can change. We can sway along the path and make the wrong decisions the first time, but we learn from them. Our emotions are hard to control and we can't help that. If that is the way you feel, you should confess and tell her," she said encouragingly, giving a small smile.

Echizen somehow felt elated, but at the same time, there was something quite wrong with this Ryuzaki Sakuno. "Sakuno, I thank you for your inspiration, your time, your support, your encouragement, and your heart. But you don't have to say all that for my own happiness, you should say it for your own."

"But I _am_ happy, Ryoma-kun," she spoke a little too quickly, hoping that he wouldn't notice, "Whenever you are happy, I am happy. If you feel sad, I feel sad. Whatever you feel, I feel." Underneath the table, she clenched one of her fists tightly as she fought back to hold back the tears, and successfully did so without him noticing.

He could only stare at her helplessly, not knowing what to do. He wanted to just cradle her in his arms, but he knew that he belonged to someone else now. Sighing heavily, he closed his eyes in exhaustion and began making imaginary swirls on the table with his right pinky, while his head lay comfortably on his left hand.

"You know, Sakuno, the reason I loved you was because I wanted to support you."

Hearing those words, her head focused on the man before her, her eyes shining in shock. She gaped slightly, but began listening intently to his words.

"Fifteen years ago, I have to admit, but you were nothing but just an acquaintance to me. Nothing special. But as time flew by, my feelings for you began to show. It wasn't until high school when I realized how lovely you looked, and how innocent and cute you were with your personality." She blushed for a moment before regaining conscience to listen again.

"Then it struck me how fragile you were when I rejected your Valentine's present. I chased after you, and explained it all out quite warily, but you accepted. Even though I didn't mean it. Another year flew by and soon we were dating, and I just couldn't believe it.

"When I learned how sensitive you were, I was extra careful around you. Even though you were clumsy and all that, you still were cute and innocent as ever, even now.

"And I just couldn't that even years after dating, it was hard to believe, but I finally married you. And now we have a child. I thought nothing could stop my love for you, because I wanted to be there with you. I wanted to see you smile contently everyday, and live a safe life without any harm in your way.

"But I was wrong. I realized, after meeting Ritsuko, I love her." He stopped for a moment, taking deep breaths before continuing. Sakuno could only gasp at him, confessing that he loved her, although that was not much of a surprise to her.

For a while, Echizen was only drinking his coffee, occasionally sipping it as he glanced at Sakuno's facial expression. But nothing dramatic had changed, just a solemn look, a look that awaited the rest of his explanation.

He sighed to himself and hesitated a bit before continuing from where he left off, "I really love her, Sakuno. The love I have for her is different from yours. I love her because…I want to support her as well. I want to teach her to go down the right way to the path, and I don't want her to suffer anymore. She has already gone through a lot more than you and I did."

At this point, Sakuno broke his long story with her own reasoning, "Ryoma-kun, you don't have to say anymore." Her eyes were closed, and her voice was filled with confidence as she smiled contently, "Go for it, because you never know when that opportunity will be gone. Don't let it go before it's too late, Ryoma-kun."

Lastly, she gave her most reassuring smile, hoping that he would fall for it, "I'll be ok, Ryoma. Really, since I have Tomo-chan and senpai-tachi and their wives to support me. You just go and catch after her. And if you ever feel like coming back, I'll be right here waiting for you every day."

His eyes widened in amazement, surprised that she would actually accept it so wholeheartedly. He closed his eyes as a few tears dropped down from his tear duct, and he quickly wiped them away. He looked down at his own hands, staring at them what seemed a few minutes before taking action. Ryoma leaned towards Sakuno and gave her a light, chaste kiss on the forehead, and she immediately blushed at the suddenness of the kiss.

"Which is why I'm thanking you for being my first lover, Ryuzaki" he finished after breaking apart the kiss. Getting up, he excused himself and left the unfinished drink on the table. He left a couple yen on the table as tip, and walked out of the café.

Ryuzaki Sakuno helplessly stared at his coffee mug that sat motionless on the smooth marble surface. Steam still rose from the cup in little puffs and clouds, and her eyes followed the paths which curved and bended easily as willows, closely watching the vapor arouse about.

Her orbs were now shining brightly and glossily as the tears she held back before began to swell uncontrollably. Not realizing this, she continued to stare at the motionless mug while she drank the black coffee. It was just then that she turned her head to face the window, hoping to see her husband one last time before he was truly gone when she recognized the red, puffy eyes and water marks on her cheeks that she knew she had been crying.

Lifting a hand gently towards her face and dabbing the stains with her delicate fingers, she could only whisper huskily, hiccupping at the same time, "I'll wait for you, Ryoma-kun. Even if it takes my whole life until you come back. And I'll take care of Raya-chan myself." With her other hand, she rubbed the round and large stomach, which perfectly nestled the newborn.

Outside, the man with his hands stuffed in his jacket pocket and his face burrowed by the collar of his leather jacket walked casually as if nothing happened. Slowly, a light drizzle formed around the city, and immediately the pedestrians quickened their paces to reach their destinations. The man only stood still in the midst of the horde, looking up at the sky to observe and closely watch the crystal water drops flutter down to the ground lightly.

Turning his head away from the weather and looking down once more, he sighed heavily and looked back at him, as if he were waiting for something. But all he saw were people, and more people, and not that one coming.

Walking to the usual, he was lost in thought. At last, he had everything set, and for the final time, this would be the time where he would confess to her.

_I don't want to hurt you anymore, Sakuno._

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**A/N:** Sakuno is such a good person, accepting her former husband's decision like that. But will happen next? A sudden comeback by Ryuzaki Sakuno? Or the end of the world for her? This story reminds me of my ballet teacher's divorce with her husband now that I think about it… Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!


	7. Chapter Nine: Time Runs Through Life

July 25, 2007 to July 25, 2007 (REFORMATTED May 1, 2010)

**Disclaimers:** I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis and the wives of the regulars and such are Lifeless-heart's.  
**Summary:** Echizen Ryoma is now married, and he is ready to have a kid with Ryuzaki Sakuno. But what happens when some things just go terribly wrong? And what's with this extra person? Enjoy! And don't forget to review please!

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Chapter Nine: Time Runs Through Life_  
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**Outside, the man with his hands stuffed in his jacket pocket and his face burrowed by the collar of his leather jacket walked casually as if nothing happened. Slowly, a light drizzle formed around the city, and immediately the pedestrians quickened their paces to reach their destinations. The man only stood still in the midst of the horde, looking up at the sky to observe and closely watch the crystal water drops flutter down to the ground lightly.**

**Turning his head away from the weather and looking down once more, he sighed heavily and looked back at him, as if he were waiting for something. But all he saw were people, and more people, and not that one coming.**

**Walking to the usual, he was lost in thought. At last, he had everything set, and for the final time, this would be the time where he would confess to her.**

_**I don't want to hurt you anymore, Sakuno.**_

The next morning was a beautiful, sunny day. The birds chirped wildly as they sat, perched on the tree branches and electrical wires. Puddles from yesterday's drizzle were muddy and murky, but not as large as the usual ones you would find formed when it would rain.

Ryuzaki Sakuno, weary from yesterday's conversation with Echizen Ryoma, stayed up pretty late at the café, then went exploring in unknown places. She had finally reached her friend's house. Ringing the doorbell wearily, she held onto the door for support, as she breathed heavily and began sweating.

"Coming!" shouted Osakada Tomoka from inside as she ran down to the first floor from the staircase leading to the second. She unlocked the chain and doorknob and pulled it open, only to find herself falling to the wooden floor.

"Ouch…" yelped Tomoka as she rubbed her head with her eyes closed. She opened her eyes and yelled at the empty frame of the door, "Whoever was outside, you didn't have to fall on me!" She felt something heavy at her feet, and glancing down to see what the heavy object was, she exclaimed hurriedly, surprised, "SAKUNO! Daijoubu? Where were you yesterday? Oh my God, what happened?! SAKUNO!"

"T-tomo-chan," rasped Sakuno as she struggled to get up, "Gomenasai…" She suddenly collapsed from the crouched position, this time landing on her friend's ankle and then rolling off to the side.

"Sak–" called Osakada as she tried to get up and help her friend, but then she fell back onto the floor.

"Damn it…" she said to herself as she rubbed her ankle roughly, "Stupid ankle…I'll just have to crawl." Carefully setting her injured leg onto the floor, she crawled towards her companion and tried shaking her awake, but Sakuno only lied on the floor unconscious.

"SAKUNO!"

**At the Echizen Household**

"Tadaima, Nee-san!" cheerfully greeted Lyanstz Riko as she locked the front door and proceeded to the kitchen in hope to find her sister.

"Ah, Riko-chan!" exclaimed Lyanstz Ritsuko, "Ohayou-gozaimasu! How was the time at your friend's house?" She took out a plate from the cabinet and set some sunny-side up eggs and some ham on it, then placed it neatly on a table mat.

"Oh, it was ok. Just worked on the project for my US History class," replied Riko casually, as she placed her bag on the floor and made herself at home with the Western Breakfast. Sneaking a devious smile, she suspiciously asked, "So, Nee-san, anything happened with Echizen-san?"

Hearing this, the older sister blushed a deep crimson color and nearly tripped over her own feet. Gripping the edge of the counter for support, she pulled herself up and stood, humming a soft song while cooking the eggs.

"Hn, I'll take that as a 'yes' then, Nee-san," comprehended the younger sister as she took her fork and stabbed part of the ham and popped it into her mouth. Swallowing the chunk of meat, she drank some milk and said, "Nee-san, spill it!"

"You shouldn't force your sister like that, baka," interrupted a deep, manly voice. A yawn followed after his order, and he covered his mouth to be polite. Pulling a chair out of the table, he plopped himself on the seat and yawned again before mumbling, "Ohayou."

"Ah, Ryoma, ohayou!" greeted Ritsuko happily, "Breakfast is just ready, so just wait a few moments." She turned her attention back to the cooking the ham now and watching the toast.

While Ritsuko was cooking breakfast, Riko poked her acquaintance in the head and asked, "What happened to Nee-san yesterday?"

"Betsuni," he said bluntly, and doze off back to sleep, burying his head in his arms.

"Hmph, be that way!" she said, jabbing him in the arm before gobbling down her entire breakfast. Picking up her bag, she swung it over her shoulder and pouted, "Nee-san, I'll be upstairs getting my things packed then. We're about to leave anyway…" She stomped up the staircase and slammed the guest room door behind her.

"Ha, Riko-chan is so cute when she pouts like that," mused the older sister as she cleared the empty plate set and placed it in the sink. She took out the piece of toast, and arranged the breakfast neatly on the plates before setting them in front of Echizen. Pouring a glass of milk, she finalized the arrangement before saying, "Eat your breakfast, Ryoma-kun."

Echizen could not help but stare at his neatly arranged breakfast before looking directly at Ritsuko. With the expression on his face, she suddenly felt worried that she had done something wrong, and asked slowly, "Is something wrong…Ryoma?"

Ryoma chuckled to himself and plastered a smirk on his face, "Mada mada dane, Ritsuko. You can't even read your own husband's thoughts."

Once again, her face turned extremely red, and she frantically began panicking, "H-husband?! Since when have I become your wife?"

Ryoma stood from his seat and kneeled down in front of her. Digging through his breast pocket from his blue pajamas, he took out a navy blue fabricated box and opened it slowly for the woman in front of him to see. She gasped at the sight of it, her hands covering her chest. Tears began to form, and they dropped, bit by bit.

"Lyanstz Ritsuko, will please be my wife for the rest of your and my lifetime, and stay by my side to support me forever? Will you marry me?"

She was at a loss of words. But somewhere, inside her feelings, she was elated and yet, she felt guilty. Before answering, she slipped in one question, "Is this ok for your first wife?"

He nodded confidently and reassured her, "Ryuzaki understands very well the situation, and she accepted wholeheartedly. She will be okay, I reassure you. So," he said, turning back to the original subject, "Will you marry me, Lyanstz Ritsuko?"

"Yes," she answered quietly and determinedly, as she slowly brought out her hand to accept the diamond ring. He pulled the ring from its box and slipped it into the ring finger, and she glanced at it with the light as the small diamond attached to the ring shone brightly.

"Oh Ryoma!" she said as she hugged him. He only smiled and hugged back, patting her softly on the head as she cried with happiness.

"Nee-san, I'm ready…oof!" moaned Riko from the living room as she dropped her luggage and headed towards the kitchen. She found the two of them hugging, and when she noticed the shiny object around her sister's ring finger, Riko could not help but smile and clap. It was just then that Echizen and Lyanstz broke their embrace and faced to see the younger sister.

"Congratulations, Nee-san, Echizen-san!" she said after stopping the applauds. "I officially have a brother-in-law and a niece or nephew now!"

"Well, the first thing you can do is unpack your bags, because you're going to stay here for the rest of your life," pointed out Ryoma, as his finger directed to the two large bags of her possessions. The younger sister pouted and crossed her arms, "Hontou ni, Echizen-san?"

"Really," answered the other sister in his stead.

"Fine, fine," she wailed as she stomped back upstairs, dragging the heavy packages to the second floor. When the door slammed shut with a loud noise, suddenly Ritsuko gave Ryoma a light kiss on the cheek.

"Arigatou, Ryoma," she thanked, smiling.

**At the Osakada Resident**

"Moshi moshi? OI! Is anyone there?!" yelled Tomoka over the phone. She smashed it back to the receiver and picked it back up immediately, dialing another set of numbers. As she placed the receiver to the side of her face, she murmured, "Where is everybody this Saturday?! Ryoma-sama turned off his stupid cell phone just at the worst moment ever! And shouldn't those stupid auction bidders have left by now? What the heck is he doing!"

"T-tomo-chan," hoarsely whispered Sakuno, who was lying on the leather couch with a cold towel on her forehead, "It's ok. I'm fine."

"No you're not fine!" retorted her friend as she grumbled before slamming the phone and dialing another number, "And I won't send you to the hospital either! I don't trust those people! The last time they tried to cure your fever, it only made it worse!"

Ryuzaki coughed before continuing, "Tomo-chan, I just have a really bad cold. I didn't have an umbrella yesterday."

"Where were you then?" asked Osakada as she tapped her foot impatiently, hoping to get some response.

"Ano, I was with –"

"Moshi moshi? Ah, Rila-chan!" cried Tomoka gratefully, "I'm so glad you picked up!"

And soon she began to converse quickly on the phone with her friend, not paying attention to Sakuno's explanation. The sick woman only sighed in exasperation and coughed again, laying her head comfortably on the sofa pillows.

"Sakuno, Rila-chan and Fuji-senpai are coming over right now!" said Osakada happily, finally joyful that someone picked up for once. "So just you wait, Fuji-senpai is the best doctor there is!"

"Ah, hai, Tomo-chan," nodded Ryuzaki. She turned her head away to cough again before redirecting her attention towards her friend. "Arigatou."

"Iie, Sakuno! Anything for my best friend!" she said, and then her voice dropped to a lower tone, "So what happened yesterday? You weren't in the house all night, I was so worried."

"Gomen, Tomo-chan. I was out at a café with Ryoma-kun," she apologized, looking away as if she were guilty.

"Kya, Ryoma-sama!" she squealed, "What happened?"

Sakuno breathed deeply with her eyes closed before intensely staring at her friend with a serious expression. "Tomo-chan, please promise me you won't tell anybody…"

**At Band Practice**

"All right people, gather up," ordered Ryoma as he clapped his hands together, "I got the theme and lyrics for our next single." Everyone scooted their chairs against the floor and awaited his idea.

"Our next theme will be about ourselves as humans and our emotions," he stated, "Here are the lyrics for those who do vocals as well as the compositions, and those who play instruments I have also made copies for you all to play along with." He handed out a bunch of papers for his group members to read.

"Um, Echizen, why this theme? I thought you would think of something happier," asked Momo, who scratched his head and looked at his friend questioningly.

"Must be Sakuno-chan's idea, nya!" suggested Eiji bouncily as he twirled around in his place when he finished reading the lyrics. Echizen could only look down before regaining his light.

"And," he added, "I also need you guys to play this for the wedding."

"Oh, OK," said one of the female band players, Tachibana Ann.

Lianna nodded her head and accepted, "We'll play this song for the…"

There was a sudden silence between the members, and they looked at each other with puzzled faces before screaming at the male lead vocalist and guitar player, "WEDDING?!"

"Since when did we play for weddings?" cried the two twin sisters, Kilinia and Keliana.

"I thought we only played for our own name, fssshhh," hissed Kaidoh.

"And speaking of weddings, grrrr," brought about Kate with a growl, "What happened with those two bidders? Weren't they supposed to move?"

"Actually, they are supposed to move in two hours, fifty minutes, and nine seconds," blurted out Inual, who began scribbling notes in her notebook that came from nowhere.

"Make that two hours, fifty minutes, seven seconds, and two nanoseconds," corrected Inui, who proceeded to do the same thing as his wife.

"Okay…" everyone slowly said, sweat-dropping at the same time.

"So they're moving today, but what happened, Echizen?" the former Seigaku Mother Hen asked in a worried voice as he eyed Ryoma suspiciously.

The youngest male could only sigh in exasperation and mumble to himself, "Guess there's no point hiding it…"

"OMG!" screamed the men with spit flying out, minus Tezuka, who stood there stoically, "ECHIZEN, YOU SEDUCED THAT MAD WOMAN?!"

"OMG!" screamed all the women, "ECHIZEN, HOW COULD YOU LEAVE SAKUNO LIKE THAT?!"

Tezuka raised his right arm in the air and said, "Echizen, didn't we tell you not to let your guard down?" Every one of them nodded in agreement, and he could only sigh again.

"Look," he started, but everyone looked at wherever his finger was pointing. "I didn't mean it literally!" So they all turned their minds back to him and stared at him with wide eyes.

"I love Lyanstz, and that's final. I already discussed this with Sakuno, and she accepted," stated Ryoma, and he somewhat nervously awaited their responses.

I-don't-know-how-many-pair-of-eyes stared at him in disbelief, and soon the women began to wail and cry.

"ANATA! I don't want to be near Echizen anymore!" they all said, pounding their fists on their husbands' chests.

All the men patted their wives' head and ruffled their hair, "It's all right, I won't let that corrupt Echizen taint us."

Echizen could not help but stare wide-eyed at the couples and sweat-drop at how sync the two genders were. He sighed (again) and said, "If you guys don't like my decision, just play this song and then I'll leave the band. Happy?"

Everyone eyed each other anxiously, and they all sighed at the same time in defeat. Tezuka stepped up to speak for the group, "Echizen, we respect your decision. If you have already settled everything between you and Sakuno-san, then it's perfectly fine."

"Thank you," sighed (again) Echizen in relief, as he slumped down on his seat. "Now let's start practicing, everyone."

"One moment," interrupted Taka, "Where are Fuji and Rila-san? We can't really practice without them…"

"Saa, you're right, Taka," agreed his wife, Risula, "Rila-chan does the lead vocals for the females and is an electric guitarist too, you know."

"Someone call Fuji," ordered Tezuka in a menacing voice, and everyone snapped their cell phones out and speed-dialed the former tensai's cell.

**At the Osakada Resident**

"Oh, Sakuno-chan! What a high fever you developed!" cried Rila as she dug through the first-aid kit, trying to find some cough drops.

"Saa," said Fuji with a pleasant (yet scary) smile, "What were you doing in the rain yesterday?" he inquired, his azure eyes suddenly opening.

"I was at a café after I found a job for me to do," she hurriedly said.

"Souka?" questioned the former-tensai, putting on a smile again. Sakuno nodded, and she knew deep down that her senpai knew it was a lie.

Surprisingly, he accepted her answer and only nodded back slightly before turning his attention towards his wife, "Ah, Rila-chan, let me help you with those…"

Walking off, the sick woman sighed in relief and coughed (again) into her right palm. Lifting the hand apart from her mouth, her eyes widened as large as plates, and her entire body trembled.

Fuji, who returned from aiding his wife and Tomoka, noticed the sudden shock and tremor in Sakuno's body. He rushed over to the couch and quickly asked, "Sakuno, daijoubu? What's wrong?"

Ryuzaki showed her ex-senpai the right palm, and his reaction was pretty much the same as Sakuno's. He offered his hand, and she accepted as he led her to the washroom to rub off the blood-stained palm.

"You don't have much time before the newborn comes, Sakuno."

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Owari  
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**A/N:** I would rather say this is the slowest part of the chapter…but things will get more exciting in the next! I dare say that there would be at least three to four more chapters before the end of this story. Thank you, Lifeless-heart-chan! Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!


	8. Chapter Ten: The Verge, the Collapse

July 26, 2007 to July 30, 2007 (REFORMATTED May 1, 2010)

**Disclaimers:** I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis and the wives of the regulars and such are Lifeless-heart's.  
**Summary:** Echizen Ryoma is now married, and he is ready to have a kid with Ryuzaki Sakuno. But what happens when some things just go terribly wrong? And what's with this extra person? Enjoy! And don't forget to review please!

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_Chapter Ten: The Verge, The Collapse_  
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* * *

**Walking off, the sick woman sighed in relief and coughed (again) into her right palm. Lifting the hand apart from her mouth, her eyes widened as large as plates, and her entire body trembled.**

**Fuji, who returned from aiding his wife and Tomoka, noticed the sudden shock and tremor in Sakuno's body. He rushed over to the couch and quickly asked, "Sakuno, daijoubu? What's wrong?"**

**Ryuzaki showed her ex-senpai the right palm, and his reaction was pretty much the same as Sakuno's. He offered his hand, and she accepted as he led her to the washroom to rub off the blood-stained palm.**

"**You don't have much time before the newborn comes, Sakuno."**

After coming out of the bathroom, Fuji perked his ears to hear his cell phone ringing madly. Shuffling through his bag, he picked up the phone and talked, "Moshi moshi? Fuji desu."

"OI FUJI! GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE!" yelled the group of band members from the other side over Kaidoh's phone. Then the line had disconnected, and the call had ended.

Smiling pleasantly to himself, he began to pack his belongings and called his wife over, "Rila-chan, we have to go to practice now. Everyone is waiting."

Echizen's little sister arrived from the kitchen and carried a bowl of chicken soup, "Hai hai, Syuusuke-kun." She turned her attention towards Sakuno and offered her the large bowl of warm soup, "Here, Sakuno-chan. Chicken soup to cure a cold." Rila smiled at her before running to catch up with Fuji, "Anata, wait a moment! I need to get my things!"

After scrambling around the entire household to gather her things, the two were off to practice, "Ja ne, Tomo-chan, Sakuno-chan. Get better, Sakuno-chan! Arigatou, Tomo-chan!" waved off the woman. Fuji smiled his pleasant and creepy smile at his two kouhai and waved his hand before they set off in their car.

As Tomoka closed the front door, she walked towards Sakuno and sat down next to her as she drank the hot soup gratefully.

"Ne, Sakuno, did you tell Fuji-senpai and Rila-chan?" asked her companion, but Ryuzaki shook her head. Osakada nodded and left her friend be as she proceeded to the kitchen to fix some lunch for herself.

**At the Band Practice**

"Konnichiwa, minna!" called Rila as she waved her hand to the group, and immediately they all ran up to the couple, pleading and begging to them.

"Rila-chan, stop your brother from going crazy!"

"Fuji, what took you so long?!"

"BURNING! SAKUNO-CHAN WILL BE SO SAD!"

"What is going on here?" asked Rila and Fuji at the same time, their eyes flickering open at the same time, for the two of them were now in tell-me-what-the-hell-is-going-on-here-or-I'll-kill-you mode.

All of them sweat-dropped at the harmonious couple that were emitting a strange aura to the place.

"Well, Echizen-kun says that we have to practice this song for the wedding," answered Ann, handing the two of them some papers. The couple shuffled through the papers and both raised a brow, "What are these supposed to be for?"

"As we said," Momo interjected, "A wedding for Echizen and one of those people."

"Those people?" questioned Rila suspiciously. Everyone swallowed their Adam Apples and gulped, hoping not to answer her question.

"Saa, I think that means Echizen and Lyanstz," answered the former tensai for the rest of the group. They swallowed again and began to creep away, hoping not to run into anything dangerous…

A sudden aura began to glow around the younger sister of Echizen, her fists clenching whilst her teeth chattered. The hair that she had tied up into a neat ponytail fell loose and flew wildly all around her head. Her eyes drooped to close, and her breathing slowly came to a stop so that you couldn't hear it at all. The shoulders relaxed, and soon every point of her body had fallen to a comfortable stance.

"Where…is…" she began in a low voice, calm as ever; however, a vein started to pop on her head. Everyone around her, including her own husband, slowly began creeping away the furthest they could.

"…ANIKI?!" she blasted her voice box, and her petrifying scream sounded as far as two blocks away. The hair dangling on her shoulders twisted and curled wildly; the fists squeezed so tightly that blood flowed; her shoulder blades were uptight and tense; all of her joints and bones hardened in one position, the position of a boxer ready to hurl a punch at their opponent; and her pulse and heart rate increased dramatically as the breathing were short and quick breaths with steam blowing out of her nose. The vein that was ready to burst had popped as well as several others, and her eyes flashed, revealing a fire spark that burned furiously in her eyes. They shone so brightly, all of their eyes began to burn (except for Fuji and Tezuka).

"GAH! MY EYES!" yelped Eiji as he began dancing out of the blue.

"THEY BURN, THEY BURN!" cried Momo as he twirled and fell to the concrete floor. Ann hastily scrambled her husband to stand and dragged him further and further away from her friend.

Fuji Rila was at last, and once again, in her don't-you-think-of-messing-with-me-and-crew-or-you'll-wish-you-were-in-hell-mode, but the aura was felt more dangerous and threatening. The coast was clear of people and their instruments (hopefully), and soon she released her punch.

"GO TO HELL PUNCH!" she shouted, unfurling one of the strongest and killing moves that she had, dubbed from one of her tennis techniques. An afterimage of her bloody knuckles and fist sped in a straight path, knocking down anything that was in or around its path. Those objects unfortunately became debris and were crushed to pieces, fluttering to the ground. The hurling fist twisted and turned as its flaming tail continued to burn and blaze.

Her real fist plunged an attack on the concrete and cemented wall, and cracks began sprouting from the source. It crackled and sizzled until the border reached its limit, and the finely shaped rock crumbled to bits. Little packs of dust floated in the air, and the woman coughed from the contact with the tiny powder. She rubbed her eyes with her sleeveless arm and opened them to see the group huddled with their hands over their heads, while Tezuka and Fuji stood behind them, arms folded and having on the usual expressions: a stoic, calm, serious face and a smiling, pleasant, scary appearance.

"Hahaha…" mumbled the acrobatic player, as his hands were released from his head, "Glad you finally calmed down, Rila-chan."

**Two Weeks Later**

"Neh, Sakuno, will you be all right alone in this place? I really don't trust them you know, especially what happened several years back," asked Tomoka, tapping her foot impatiently in the medical room, peering out the window to see the busy city below her.

"I'll be fine, Tomo-chan. Don't worry," reassured Sakuno as she smiled while closing her eyes. "I trust Ryoma-kun's doctor that he specifically got for me. Besides, she's female."

"I suppose so," said Osakada, facing her friend as she sat next to her, "And are you really sure about me going alone to the marriage? What about you?"

"Tomo-chan…" she said, turning away coldly. Tomoka sighed and understood what she exactly meant. Standing up, she made her way to the door and placed her hand on the handle. "Sakuno, hit my cell when sensei has the results. I'll be getting ready for Ryoma-sama's wedding with Hideki-kun." She gave one last smile at her childhood friend before opening the door and closing it behind her.

"Have fun, Tomo-chan," waved off Sakuno, giving her a bright smile. She silenced herself, intently listening to the sound of footsteps fading each second. As the sound was captured by the silence when the shoes clacked and spiraled down the stairs, Sakuno let out a heavy sigh and turned her body to face the window. Staring endlessly at the cloudless, blue sky, she closed her eyes and thought deeply as a few tears came from her eyes.

"Have a good life, Echizen-san, Ritsuko-san…"

**At the Church**

"Oi, Momo, give that bowtie back, nya!" cried Eiji as he lunged forward for the stolen tie. His kohai only stuck a tongue out at his senpai.

"Let me just borrow this, Eiji-senpai. It seems that I lost my bowtie somewhere…" said Momoshiro, who wedged and tied the black bow around the collar of his tuxedo and gave a cheesy smirk at his former senpai.

"Nya, I'll just get a new one then!" said Eiji as he ran to the back room of the church, carrying a large bag with him. The rest of the group watched as the acrobatic player, along with his wife, scurried to the back of the place. They nervously looked around before huddling into a group, a very tight and secretive group.

"I really don't want to do this…" whispered grumpily Kate, growling a little afterwards. Everyone sighed in agreement.

"We know, but there really isn't much that we can make out of a living for now…" pointed out Oishi, sighing heavily. Everyone sighed heavily in agreement.

"And I have to be Echizen's best man too…" thought aloud Momo, sighing the heaviest he could. Everyone sighed their heaviest along with the former powerhouse.

"I'm still worried about Sakuno-chan though," worried Taka-san's wife. All the women sighed heavily and nodded in agreement at the same time.

"I'm glad that I don't have to be _that_ woman's maid of honor or whatever," spoke aloud Rila in her pissed mode, "It's already bad enough seeing aniki throwing away Sakuno-chan, who so dearly helped me with everything in order to be a good housewife for Syuusuke-kun, and then coming to love again, somebody who is dirty and seductive as her…" Her anger point began to boil greatly, and her husband placed a calming, soothing hand on her shoulder, and she tensely relaxed. The rest sighed in relief that she had not gone to far in her pissed mode.

"Well then, let's just get those over with, shall we?" a voice rang throughout the entire hall, and the people swiped their heads to see their kohai and her boyfriend walking down the aisle, holding hands.

"Tomo-chan!" Ann cheered as she proceeded to give her a big hug. The rest of the women followed suit, and after a big group hug from the females (and yes, Tomoka's boyfriend, Suzuka Hideki managed to escape by a hair), they began pushing her and shoving her with questions.

"OMG, IS SAKUNO ALL RIGHT?!"

"Tomo-chan, what happened to Sakuno-chan? Where is she?"

"Does Sakuno know about Echizen's break up?"

"Is she coming to the wedding?"

"How's the baby coming along?"

"I heard from Rila-chan that she caught a bad cold. Is she all right?"

"How did Sakuno-chan respond to Echizen's feelings for that DAMN WITCH?"

"Minna, calm down," motioned Osakada, using her hands as a gesture for the women to settle down. Immediately, the women parted and took places in the pews and eagerly awaited her explanation.

"Sakuno is all right; she's in the hospital right now. The baby is fine, her cold is getting better. She knows about Echizen and has accepted, but she's not coming to the wedding for medical reasons," stated Ryuzaki's companion all in one breath. She inhaled as much air as she could before releasing the carbon dioxide into the air, relieved that she could finally let out the heart popping explanation from her chest.

"Oh…" spoke all the women, nodding their heads intently before striding off to their husbands, reporting what happened. All the former regulars glowered in anger, and Momo was the first to lose his head.

"Gah, stop reminding me! I get it, OK?!"

"Well, let me remind you that the wedding is to start in an hour, and our visitors come in half and hour," said an unknown voice, and everyone whipped their heads to see –

"Echizen!"

The Echizen Ryoma was wearing a black tuxedo, with a white shirt underneath and a black cotton tie. His shoes were shiny and tied up nicely; his hair was combed into two separate sides from the crown of his head; and his eyes shone brightly out of all his outer features. Women would have drooled over at the sight oh him as he smirked.

"I hope you are all ready to play," he said casually, brushing his hair like Atobe Keigo. "I'll be depending on you guys a lot for this wedding. Means a lot to me."

"Oh," said Tomoka, hanging her head low before facing her acquaintance, "So Sakuno's wedding was nothing, Ryoma-sama?" He could only look away before answering a low voice.

"Sakuno taught me many things after our marriage. She was important to my life, and now we are just close friends." He covered his eyes with his bangs and walked to the back of the church and into the restroom, brushing past the Kikumaru couple.

"Nya? Wasn't that Ochibi?" questioned Eiji to his wife, Lianna. She nodded in agreement to answer his question, and they both stared at each with raised brows before heading back to the group.

After all the ex-regulars and their wives and the rest gathered around, Tezuka spoke in a commanding tone, "Let us rehearse once more and play for Echizen's wedding."

"Hai!" said all the males and females as they pretended to salute to the ex-buchou of the Seigaku tennis club.

"And hope that whoever Ryoma-sama's suppose-to-be wife-is dies afterwards," muttered Osakada, her eyes narrowing to the side.

"Tomo-chan!"

**In the Hospital Room**

The patient sat still as she peacefully watched the atmosphere of the sunny, blue skies outside the window. The wispy clouds slowly floated by, and a small breeze blew inside, rustling the green curtains. She sighed in pleasure and laid her head on the soft, fluffy pillow. Reaching for the remote, she clicked the television on and watched the channel that sparked on the screen. Shrieks, screams, yells, shouts, and laughter could be sounded as the picture finally flickered on.

"You won't believe it! Look at this audience!" cried the news reporter as she pointed her finger at a church. The woman widened her eyes in surprise as she immediately recognized the steeple on the rooftop, and her attention returned to the female reporter as she yelled her loudest to get the news through.

"All these fan girls are trying to push through to see the live wedding with the Echizen Ryoma and another girl! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!"

The woman observed the television screen closely, listening carefully as the news reporter pressed the microphone attachment at the collar closer to her mouth and spoke loudly.

"The one who is getting married in this church is none other than the Echizen Ryoma, a famous tennis professional player, lead vocals and guitarist for his band! And the lucky duck to spend the rest of her lifetime with him is Lyanstz Ritsuko! Now, our newscast will push inside the church to get the rest of the scoop on this, so stay tuned after the break. This is Nanya Kaoru reporting, ja."

The female tipped her fingers and gently pushed down on the power button of the remote, resulting with a zip on the screen. She sighed heavily, rubbing the temples on her head with a frown plastered on her face. Glancing nervously to the side table next to her hospital bed, she shifted her position and reached for a beige colored folder.

Her fingers dug through the stack of papers delicately, the sound of flickering pieces of smooth bark vibrating against one another. As her fingers stopped to the last piece of the document, she pulled it up an inch so that the title of the document would appear. Peering anxiously, she shoved it back into the stack inside the folder, pulled open the drawer forcefully, and rammed the fat pack inside it, a loud colliding noise sounding in the empty silence. She shifted her sitting position to a sleeping one, her back facing the door. She pulled the sheets over her head and burrowed inside the hospital bed, making a few whimpering sounds here and there, as if it were the sound of crying.

Twenty-seven year old Ryuzaki Sakuno would take on the role of being a mother. Even if it meant that her child was to be fatherless.

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_Owari_  
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**A/N:** If you hate me now, spew it all out. But that's not the end! There's much more to come, and you'll be quite pleased on how much this climax seriously climbs. Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!


	9. Chapter Eleven: Ten Years Later

July 31, 2007 to August 3, 2007 (REFORMATTED May 1, 2010)

**Disclaimers:** I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis and the wives of the regulars and such are Lifeless-heart's.  
**Summary:** Echizen Ryoma is now married, and he is ready to have a kid with Ryuzaki Sakuno. But what happens when some things just go terribly wrong? And what's with this extra person? Enjoy! _And don't forget to review please!_

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_Chapter Eleven: Ten Years Later_  
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**Her fingers dug through the stack of papers delicately, the sound of flickering pieces of smooth bark vibrating against one another. As her fingers stopped to the last piece of the document, she pulled it up an inch so that the title of the document would appear. Peering anxiously, she shoved it back into the stack inside the folder, pulled open the drawer forcefully, and rammed the fat pack inside it, a loud colliding noise sounding in the empty silence. She shifted her sitting position to a sleeping one, her back facing the door. She pulled the sheets over her head and burrowed inside the hospital bed, making a few whimpering sounds here and there, as if it were the sound of crying.**

**Twenty-seven year old Ryuzaki Sakuno would take on the role of being a mother. Even if it meant that her child was to be fatherless.**

The sun shone brightly throughout the entire city, the sky blue as ever and birds flying underneath the wispy clouds. The city of Tokyo was indeed, busy as usual and ever, bustling and popular as always, but in the outskirts of this urban place, where the quiet streets were built for quiet families, a certain household was noisy and loud, active than the rest of the street. And neighbors had nearly called 9-1-1 for the sudden racket and din, but the landlady had explained everything to her neighbors, that it was only her daughter's tenth birthday party that was to take place for the day.

"Tomo-chan! Would you mind helping me put up the decorations?" asked thirty-seven year old Ryuzaki Sakuno from the kitchen as she whipped a batter in a glass bowl.

"Sure thing, Sakuno!" answered her companion, thirty-seven year old Osakada Tomoka with pleasure. She gestured her hand towards her own daughter, 4-year-old Suzuka Osakada Chouko eagerly accepted her mother's hand and waddled in the direction which she pulled, bouncing up and down, unable to contain the excitement.

"Okaa-san!" called a voice from the second floor. The busy caterer had molded the batter into the cake pan and finished placing it into the oven. Turning the knob to the perfect temperature, she hurriedly took the back stairs up and followed the repetitive sound of her name.

"Okaa-san! I can't find my favorite black shorts!" complained the official ten year old Ryuzaki Raya. She firmly placed her fists on her hips and pouted, looking quite angrily at her own mother. Sakuno gave out a small chuckle before patting her on the head. "Raya-chan, I washed them yesterday after your tennis practice, remember?"

"Mou!" yelled the girl as she pulled her brown, shoulder-length hair in different directions, growling to herself at the same time, "I forgot!"

"Well now, what are you going to wear, Raya-chan?" said her mother as she walked to her wardrobe and began digging through the hanged and folded clothes, neatly arranged according to some category. Sakuno took out a freshly washed and ironed blouse and presented it to her daughter, but she only received denial as the reply.

"Okaa-san! You know how much I HATE being formal!" pouted the child, folding her arms and glaring at her own parent. The mother could not help but laugh now, and she covered her mouth in the process to be polite. Bending down so that she would be eye-leveled with her daughter, she smiled and sweetly tried persuading her, "Just for this once, would you _please_ wear either a sundress, a blouse and a skirt, or some nice top and a skirt with nice shoes for this occasion? All your baa-chan's and jii-chan's are coming over, including your cousins. You don't want to look sporty, now do you, Raya-chan?" She cupped her hands around the young one's cheeks and smiled even more. The child hopelessly sighed and gave up in exhaustion, slowly removing the hands from her face and embracing them together, hands folded.

"You win, Okaa-san," finalized Raya, smiling at her mother. She ran to her closet and began sticking her head inside the rack of clothes. "I'll be down, Okaa-san!"

"Hai," answered her mother as she closed the door behind her and went back downstairs to the kitchen, checking on the cake as she began caramelizing the sugar. It was just then that the front doorbell rang impatiently.

"Kya!" yelped the other mother as she nearly toppled over the chair from hanging a streamer on the ceiling.

"I'll get it, Okaa-san!" squealed the four year old as she ran and skipped to the door and pressed the handle downwards, opening the door to view a group of men, women, and their children.

"Konnichiwa!"

Just in time, Osakada came striding to the main hallway and noticed the guests, "Ah, konnichiwa, minna-san!" She welcomed them cordially and bowed, then pointed a finger at a closet, "You can hang all your things in there, and then settle yourselves in the living room."

"Arigatou, Tomo-chan!" thanked Ann as she hugged her tightly, and Tomoka could only smile. The rest laughed heartily and proceeded to the living room, which was fully decorated with some 'Happy Birthday!' banners, streamers, and balloons. The glass table was filled with refreshments, and there was just enough room to fit all of the guests.

And as usual, the Inui couple was madly scribbling away in their notebooks.

"Wah, Tomo-chan, you sure prepared quickly for Raya's birthday!" exclaimed Lianna as she rushed to each corner of the room to observe the fine decorations. Osakada chuckled to herself, blushing slightly, "Domo."

Turning her attention towards her household companion, Tomoka strode over to the kitchen to check on her friend, "Sakuno! Everyone's here! How's the cake?"

A faint reply could be heard from the culinary room, "F-fine, T-tomo-chan. You-u s-should s-start on-n the barb-bec-cue now-w."

"All right, I'll go get the meat from the sink which we defrosted then," she said as she began walking through the doorway, but was stopped with a hand sticking out of the entrance. On the palms of Sakuno's hands were a tray of meats and a tray of vegetables and skewers.

"Y-you should-d start now-w, T-tomo-chan. Everyone is p-probably h-hung-ry. If-f y-you n-need m-more, t-tell m-me."

"Sakuno," worriedly said Tomoka, placing her hands on her hips, "Why are you stuttering? Why don't you welcome your senpai-tachi and the rest of them?" Her voice began to grow in volume, and she stormed into the next room, hoping to pull Sakuno out of the kitchen and welcome her guests. But what she saw and found was certainly more horrific than that, so horrible that she ran out of the kitchen after two seconds.

"First aid kit! Where the hell is it?!"

After hearing the words "first aid kit", everyone immediately rushed over to the kitchen (causing a traffic jam at the doorway, but everyone managed to squeeze through). They knew that although Ryuzaki Sakuno was thirty-seven, she would still be clumsy and a klutz at times.

They found the woman shaking all over, collapsed on her knees as the palm of her hands pressed hard on the floor. Her head hung low, her bangs covering her eyes. She was sweating profusely, and the group could hear a small, tiny voice stuttering monotonously, as if in soliloquy.

"Sakuno, Sakuno!" shook one of the women as she bent down to her knees and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her wildly. "Wake up! What's wrong?!"

Inui and Inual, meanwhile, were inspecting the current state of Sakuno and wrote furiously in their notebooks. Closing it snap at the same time, both had confirmed a theory, "Ryuzaki / Sakuno-chan is probably suffering some sort of illness, and her collapse may be a side effect of it."

"Oh my god!" screamed Oishi and Keliana at the same time, slapping their hands over their cheeks.

Fuji bent down low and faced Sakuno. He was rather very close to her face, and every one of them gulped. All the parents covered the eyes of their children, hoping that their children would not grow up to be as sadistic and evil as Fuji. He neared towards her face when he was interrupted by a young voice.

"Okaa-san! Okaa-san!" cried the ten year old female as she ran towards her mother and looked worriedly at her. "Wake up! Tomo-baa-chan, did you get the first aid kit?"

"Hai, Raya-chan," quickly responded Tomoka as she bent down towards her childhood friend and opened the white medical box. Digging through the pile of first aid, she managed to take out a hammer, a band-aid, and some ointment. Sighing heavily, she eyed her niece who was nodding. Sighing again, she whispered lowly, "Gomen, Sakuno."

Reluctantly she swung the hammer and nailed it pretty hard on her foot, and Osakada looked at her friend to get a reaction. But Sakuno remained in the same position, except for the bleeding foot.

"Never mind that…" she mumbled as she put away the hammer and proceeded to give her treatment on the foot. Fuji made his way in front of Sakuno after she had moved aside, and everyone began panicking, especially her own daughter.

"Mou! This is the worst it has been so far! What is wrong with Okaa-san's body, I don't know!" yelled Raya to herself, stomping around the entire kitchen. Tomoka could only gasp and then scold in surprise, "Raya-chan!"

The birthday girl hung her head low and apologized, "Gomen." The rest of the group raised a brow (except for the dear children, of course) in suspicion.

Breathing slowly, Fuji once again neared Sakuno until they were inches away from each other (although she did not know). The mothers covered the eyes of all their children, making sure that they could not see this. Just in the knick of time (and thankfully), he changed directions to the side of her face and whispered, "Wake up, Sakuno-chan," and blew gently in her ear.

She jerked upwards, suddenly awaking from her hypnosis. She fell backwards and collapsed onto her back this time. Rubbing her forehead, she looked up at the ceiling to find a bunch of faces staring at her, blinking.

"Kya!" she yelped as she quickly crawled away from the blinking eyes, placing her hands on the wall as she breathed quickly. Realization hit her, and she finally calmed down, "Oh, it's you guys. Gomenasai." Bowing, she quickly welcomed all her guests until she noticed that a certain family wasn't here.

"Ar-e? Where's Echizen-san and Ritsuko-chan?" Everyone gulped, but Tezuka answered for the group, "They will be coming over soon, they have a few things they need to do first."

"Souka, Tezuka-senpai? Hai, arigatou," she said cheerfully, although inwardly she felt slightly disappointed. "Well, why don't we start the barbecue then and have some fun, ne, Raya-chan? Oh, you look so adorable!"

Ryuzaki Raya did look adorable; she wore a white skirt down to her knees while a pale blue blouse was on top. Her hair was tied up in a braid by a red ribbon, her pale complexion shone brightly under the lights, and her body size was petite, just like her mother in the old days.

"Arigatou, Fuji-senpai," thanked Sakuno as she bowed at her senpai. He smiled and waved a hand, "Iie."

"You two-timer, Syuusuke," quietly whispered Rila. She was nearing her pissed mode.

**One Hour Later**

Everyone of the guests were outside in Tomoka's backyard. While Osakada was taking care of the barbecue, and Sakuno setting the food on the table, the rest relaxed in the sunny atmosphere. The children, of course, played around.

"Let's play some tennis!" cried Raya, who threw her fist with the tennis racket in the air.

"Yosh!" cheered the rest as they hurriedly went to get their rackets. Chouko followed the footsteps of her favorite cousin, trying to imitate her actions. She still wasn't old enough to play tennis, but she loved watching the matches.

"Who wants to play against me?" earnestly asked the black hair male whose name was Momoshiro Takuma. He always bragged about his father being Seigaku's "powerhouse" and his mother the sister of Tacibana Kippei, and boasted that he was as powerful as his father. He mostly resembled his father, but the eyes were as crystal clear and shining as his mother's.

"RRRRRRRR, stop bragging yarou…" snarled the daughter of Kaidoh Kaoru and Kate, Kaidoh Yuuna. She wasn't anything like her name, not gentle at all, not even in the inside. She tried really hard like her father, and even took on his appearance, but the one characteristic which she inherited from her mother was her snarl, which was always emphasized with BIG letters.

And the two enemies/friends, just like their parents, bashed their foreheads and glared deadly at one another. Who couldn't get enough of children who were exactly like their parents, as if reincarnations?

"Never mind them, let's just play," Raya brushed the two of them off casually. She was the oldest of the group, being born first before everyone else, so mostly everyone listened to her. Her mother taught her the basic tennis moves, and even a few that her great-grandmother had passed on, and improved them when she joined the tennis club at school. She could beat every one of her cousins…except, for Tezuka Kazuo and Fuji Rin.

"Let's see if you have improved, Ryuzaki," said Kazuo as he stepped up to face his oldest cousin in a tennis match. Although he wore contacts instead of spectacles like Kunimitsu, and his face was kind and gentle like his mother Kilinia, his personality was indeed serious and cold as his father. The ex-buchou taught his son to never laugh and never let your guard down, and he absorbed that information quickly in his brain.

"Hai, 'buchou'," slightly teased Raya as she began bouncing the neon ball onto the pavement. Rin scurried to become the referee and made the announcement.

"Ryuzaki Raya vs. Tezuka Kazuo. Ryuzaki to serve."

Fuji Rin was the daughter of a tensai and the sister of the prince of tennis, so no doubt would her tennis skills be good. She loved teasing and playing around with her cousins and friends just like her father, but whenever someone defied her close friends and family or herself, she would go into her mother's don't-you-think-of-messing-with-me-or-crew-or-you'll-wish-you-were-in-hell mode. Strangely though, Rin has different colored eyes than both her parents, which the genes could have come from generations before.

The Ryuzaki junior served the ball, performing the Twist Serve that headed towards Tezuka. The ball bounced past his face quicker and sharper than usual, and after picking up the ball, the male stood up and praised her, "You've improved that Twist Serve of yours, Ryuzaki."

"Hn," she said as Rin called out, "Fifteen-love." She bounced the ball again and performed another Twist Serve, but her opponent knew what to do. He returned the ball with ease and scored a point for himself.

"Fifteen-all," said the referee. She smiled widely and continued to watch closely.

"Go, Raya-nee-chan!" cheered on the little toddler, jumping in her place as her hand was held on tightly by the son of the Kikumaru's, Kikumaru Shun.

"Go, Ryuu-chan! Go, Kaze! Go!" cheered Shun, throwing his free hand into the air. He was always hyper like his father and mother, and gave special nicknames to each of his closest friends or cousins. His favorite word was 'go', and no one knew why; Inui-jii-san suggested that it was because his father's favorite words were 'nya', 'hoi', and 'buii'. His hair was rather a dark brown and close to black with a few red highlights here and there. His parents named his for his speed of everything, both learning and tennis skills and everything in between.

"Oi, minna! I brought some food that the baa-chan's prepared as well as my otou-san's sushi!" called the only male, Kawamaru Kenta, the son of Takashi and Risula. Another weird inheritance that he did not come to love into making sushi, but rather cooking Japanese food in general. Of course, he would go into his little 'burning mode' whenever someone gave him a…er, frying pan with a spatula, or simply a wok will do.

"Yosh! Food!" cried Takuma as he broke the fight and ran towards his cousin. Yuuna sighed in exasperation, snarling to herself as she proceeded to do the same. Chouko tugged the hand of Shun and he brought her over to Kenta.

"If no one will come to observe the game, then I will, Ii Data," mumbled Inui Nori as he had a notebook in his hand, scribbling down notes of the match. He wore the same exact square glasses as his parents, had black hair, and pretty much everything was the same. Except that he created 'Inui Candy' that would look very tempting and nutritious, but in truth would probably kill the person eating it. Only Rin and Raya were able to withstand the horrific effects of the Inui Candy. The rest would barf out the chewed-up contents in the toilet and come out groggy.

"Game to Tezuka, 4 games to 2. Tezuka to serve," declared Rin before turning her attention towards her mother, who offered her a plateful of wasabi sushi and some teriyaki with the spiciest barbecue sauce. The rest of her cousins sweat-dropped at the sight of the spicy aroma hovering around the plate and scooted away from her, not wanting the zesty sauce to taint their foods. The adults from the back porch could only laugh at the sight of their children.

"They're just like us, neh?" laughed Momo as he bit off some barbecued chicken from the skewer and popped it in his mouth.

"More like you guys," added Ann as she sipped her ice tea. All the women laughed, teasing the men.

Tomoka flipped some beef and flattened them out with the spatula, "Who wants more burgers?"

"ME!" screamed Eiji and Momo as they stuffed the rest of their foods before running up for the hamburgers. Lianna and Ann looked at each other and sighed in despair, shaking their heads in disapproval. Once again, fits of laughter could be heard.

"Okaa-san and Otou-san must be having fun up there, neh, Kazuo?" nudged Rin as she took a bite out of her wasabi sushi. Kazuo only stared at his parents before muffling, "Hn."

All the children ogled at their parents' silly reactions and movements. They laughed and giggled, covering their mouths not to do it too loud. However, unable to suppress it, everyone of the kids snorted and chortled, making fun of their mothers and fathers while choking on their foods.

Everyone except one child – the eldest. She only eyed her cousins, then her uncles and aunts, and lastly, her mother. She noticed her mother was laughing, but for some reason, her eyes and expression…looked fake. The two Ryuzaki's both appeared glum, but quickly covered their gloomy faces with a forced smile and personality.

"Konnichiwa! I hope we're not too late for you birthday party, Raya-chan!"

Everyone jerked their heads toward the anonymous voice and breathed hesitantly. Sakuno was the first to walk down the stairs of the back porch and greet her.

"Konnichiwa, Ritsuko-chan! You're not late at all, come on in!" greeted Ryuzaki as she bowed before gesturing her to enter the backyard. Raya came skipping over excitedly and bowed to one of her favorite aunts.

"Konnichiwa, Ritsuko-baa-chan! Thank you for coming!" she said happily.

"Iie, I'm just glad we made it on time," she replied, then bent down so she would be eye-leveled to her, "And happy birthday, Raya-chan." She gave a bright smile and held out a red gift bag, making Raya's eyes gleam with happiness.

"Arigatou, Ritsuko-baa-chan!" thanked the birthday girl as she hugged her aunt tightly while the woman patted her on the head.

"You shouldn't forget about me too, you know!" growled a certain voice, making the older sister laugh. Appearing from the gate was Lyanstz Riko, who was now married to a man named Isuzu Nobu. She came strolling down the path with her husband and greeted the child.

"Konnichiwa, Raya-chan. Happy birthday; your present from Riko-baa-chan and Nobu-jii-san." She gave her a purple bag with swirls decorated all over.

"Arigatou, Riko-baa-chan, Nobu-jii-san," she said, bowing and hugging them one at a time. Looking at her surroundings, she offered her mother the gift bags to put in her pile of presents before asking, "Where is Ryoma-jii-chan?" Sakuno's heart skipped a heartbeat, and she slid away from the crowd.

"Hold on, Raya-chan," Ritsuko said, then she turned around to the gate and called, "Ryoma! Raya-chan is waiting to greet you!"

"Urgh, Ritsuko, you think it's easy to care for two children at once? I don't think so," called back a manly, deep voice. He came walking through the gate, holding the hand of a boy and carrying a bunch of blankets which wrapped a small female infant sleeping.

"Ryoma-jii-chan!" cried cheerfully the younger Ryuzaki as she clasped her arms around his waist. He smiled and said, "Happy Birthday, Raya."

"Arigatou, jii-chan!" she smiled toothily at her uncle before lagging the Echizen family towards the rest of her uncles and aunts. "Baa-chan! Jii-chan! Come and say hi!"

The adults chuckled at the order before collecting their own offspring and greeting the newly arrived group. Raya meanwhile slipped inside to get her mother to do the same thing.

"Okaa-"

Raya was trembling at the sight of her mother. Sakuno struggled to pull herself up using the counter as support. Her legs were shaking a lot as she finally stood up firm, and sighed gratefully. Sensing the presence of her daughter, she put on a smile and shooed her out of the kitchen back to the yard, "I've put your present in the pile, so why don't you go and finish your tennis match with Kazuo-kun?"

"Hai, hai," she bluntly said as she stepped onto the porch, looking back at her mother who was washing her hands at the sink. She sighed and headed back to the tennis court to finish her tennis match.

"Game and match to Tezuka, 6 games to 4," finally announced Rin as she directed her arm towards Tezuka. He went up to the net and shook hands with his cousin.

"You've improved, Ryuzaki," complimented the son of the Tezuka's. She merely nodded and shook back, then raised their arms into the air. The rest of the kids clapped their hands wildly.

"Yosh! My turn now!" said Takuma as he jumped off the grass and stood firmly on the ground. Yunna did the same, and once again the cousins were in another brawl. Everyone sighed heavily, while Oishi Masaru decided to take things on from here.

Oishi Masaru had more confidence than his father, but his tennis wasn't that flashy either. At least he had some leadership, especially from his cousin Kazuo and Raya. It's a good thing his hairstyle wasn't like his father's, but he had the same eyes as him. The color of his hair was the same as his mother's, and although he did not worry as much as his parents (and the parents worried that they were not his son, that his personality and genes were mutated…), he would still panic around if something major was going on.

"Who wants to play a match against me?" asked Masaru as he looked around. Then a boy with a white Fila cap and a tennis racket pointed it at his older cousin and smirked.

"I will, Masaru-san," stated the boy who looked exactly like his father. His name was Echizen (Lyanstz) Minoru, and every aspect of him was exactly like his father: the pride, cold personality, love of tennis, his skills, the bad habits, and his outer appearance. He was like an exact copy of his father, but a little more sociable and playful. One thing was for sure though –

"Game and match to Echizen. Seven games to six."

– his tennis skills were pretty much the same as his father's (and soon he will be the pillar of Seigaku, you know…) –

"Mada mada, Masaru-san."

– and that stupid phrase.

Masaru only sighed as he shook hands with his cousin, "You win again, Echizen. I'll never beat you, but it's a good thing that I managed to get through the tiebreak."

"Hn," he said as he walked away to grab a drink. Meanwhile all the female cousins talked amongst themselves under a shady tree, for they just noticed the match between Oishi and Echizen. That is, consisting of Raya, Rin, and Chouko.

"Wah, Minoru-nii-san won the match! He won the match!" said Chouko happily as she danced around the tree trunk. Raya and Rin laughed at the actions of their little cousin and finally settled her back down.

"You can calm down now, Cho-chan," ordered lightly Raya as she winked at her. Chouko noticed the winking and settled back down, sitting down politely like the rest of her cousins.

"You can be so convincing sometimes, Raya," said Rin as she sipped her lemonade, then placed the glass on a leveled patch of grass before turning to her cousin and talk. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," casually responded the girl before shooing her little cousin away for some privacy. Reluctantly, Chouko skipped back to her mother and pester her about her father's homecoming.

"You see Minoru-kun over there?" gestured Fuji, pointing to a short male with the white cap sitting on the steps while drinking Ponta (cough) and talking with Chouko, who was smiling happily. Ryuzaki nodded and asked, "Why? You know something about him?"

"Maybe it's just me, or do you two look the same? Or rather, act the same?"

Ryuzaki Raya froze in her position holding a glass of lemonade in her hand. She trembled slightly, rethinking Rin's statement over and over. _I look the same as Minoru-kun? Impossible, we are only god-related cousins. We can't have the same blood…even though our Twist Serves are pretty much the same…no, they're just coincidences. Come to think of it, why does Ryoma-jii-san look so familiar to me, as if he were close to me? Ah…what is going on? Is Okaa-san hiding something from me…_

"My head hurts…" murmured Raya as she rubbed her temples. Rin's eyes widened, revealing dark brown eyes gleaming, and she placed her hands on her cousin's shoulders. "Never mind that, it's almost time to cut the cake." Standing up, she offered her hand to Raya, "We can't have cake without the birthday girl, neh?"

"Ah…" gaped Raya before smiling at her, "…hai."

Sakuno came out from the back door and called attention to her guests, "Minna-san! The cake is ready!" She went back inside, having a bustling group of parents and children running inside. They all loved Sakuno's cooking, after all.

**Inside the House**

"Whew, it was starting to get hot outside," relieved Kikumaru, wiping off the sweat of his forehead. His wife instead dabbed a damp cloth on it, and he sighed happily.

"Well, Sakuno's about to bring out the cake," said Tomoka as she turned on the air conditioner, and everyone sighed in relief. _Thank goodness for the AC_, they thought.

Sakuno walked out of the kitchen holding a cake platter with a white frosted cake and some fruit decorations. "Here you go, Raya-chan; your favorite: fruit cake with vanilla frosting." She set it on the table and prepared to light a candle, but in the process so burned her finger on the liter.

"Itai!" she cried, dropping the liter onto the table with a clutter. She sucked her thumb quickly to relieve it, and everyone sweat-dropped at her clumsiness.

"I'll go get the first –"

"No," a voice interjected, rather quite coldly, "I'll treat Ryuzaki. You guys stay here and start celebrating."

Everyone turned their attention towards the voice to find the owner of it was none other than Echizen Ryoma. He briskly walked towards Sakuno and dragged her into the washroom. His senpai-tachi huddled in a group and whispered so that no one could hear them.

"Nya, Ochibi is going to get back Sakuno-chan!" cried Eiji happily.

"It's a good thing too. I was kind of getting sick of greeting those Liar people," agreed Momo, nodding his head.

"It's Lyanstz," corrected Inui, "And it is an eighty-two percent chance that those two will get back together."

"Your data can never be wrong, Inui," said Fuji smiling.

"Fssshhh, but what happens if it it's only a talk?" wondered aloud Kaidoh.

Kawamaru scratched his head and thought carefully before answering, "Well –"; Fuji handed him a racket; "BURNING! ECHIZEN AND SAKUNO-CHAN WILL GET BACK TOGETHER!"

Tezuka simply stared at the group stoically. They chose to ignore him.

Not that he would help much in the discussion anyway.

The regulars dispersed and motioned their wives to gather their instrumental things. The uncles and aunts would be playing one of their famous songs, "Birthday Aruki Hajimeta Hi" to Raya-chan as a group birthday present.

**With Echizen and Sakuno**

"Arigatou, Echizen-san," thanked Sakuno as she saw on the toilet seat, observing his movements. He nodded his head and continued searching for a band aid (since most were used up by the previous accidents).

Placing some cream on her thumb and wrapping it deftly with a band aid, he broke the silence, "How's your daughter?"

"She's doing perfectly fine, thank you. Tennis is her number one priority," Sakuno replied, smiling.

"Is that so? That's good," he said, "She doesn't know yet, does she?"

The woman shook her head but worriedly spoke, "She will soon. We can't hide the truth forever."

"Hn," he said, and at last he finished treating her burn. She thanked him again and bowed, watching him retreat back to the living room where a lively party dance was going on (the cake, luckily, did not get flipped over by Eiji yet). Her eyes began to well, but she brushed them away. She remade her sad expression and smiled, for it was her daughter's birthday. It was no time to worry about other trivial matters; what mattered right now was that her own daughter, Ryuzaki Raya, would have the best tenth birthday of her life.

"Make a wish, and blow out the candles, Raya!" shouted all her cousins in unison. She nodded her head and closed her eyes for a moment, thinking of the one wish she desired while pursing her lips.

It had been two minutes since she closed her eyes, and everyone waited patiently for her to blow out the candles. But not everyone was that patient, and some began fidgeting around. The candle was one centimeter away from the icing.

Momo got up from his seat on the couch and walked behind it, pacing back and forth. Then he coughed nonstop, and soon his footsteps were heavier and louder. Everyone whipped their heads back to study the man, with raised brows.

"What?" he asked, raising his own brow, sounding innocent.

Every one turned their heads away, shot "the look" at each other, and sighed at the same time.

"NOTHING."

"Ah!" exclaimed Raya, opening her eyes, "I have my wish!" She closed her eyes again and blew out all the candles. All the hungry and impatient people wiped the sweat off their foreheads since the candle was three millimeters away from icing. But, there was wax on the cake already.

"Nee-san took too long," Minoru said in front of her face, and she stuck out her tongue in retaliation.

"Sakuno-chan!" called Ritsuko from the living room, "Can you get the wax off the icing?"

"Hai," replied Sakuno as she walked back from the washroom to the kitchen. Scraping off the wax, she inwardly thought, _You don't have to tell me what to do…_

"Let's eat some cake now!" cheered Raya, throwing the knife into the air.

"Yosh!"

And for the rest of that day, everyone had an enjoyable time at Ryuzaki Raya's Tenth Birthday Party.

**Ten o' Clock**

"Whew, that's the last of the calls, Okaa-san!" said Raya as she placed the receiver back to the holder position.

"Arigatou," said her mother while she folded the laundry as she sat on the living room couch. "After I fold your set of clothes, bring it up to your drawer and sleep, ok?"

"Hai," she said, but then pleaded, "Can I wait until Tomo-baa-chan and Cho-chan come back from the airport with Hideki-jii-chan? He's coming back from London today with souvenirs for all of us, and I want to see them!"

Sakuno laughed and continued folding the clothes, "You can see when you come back from school tomorrow, because it's almost time for you to go to sleep."

"Mou…lucky Cho-chan," grumbled Raya as she took a seat next to her mother, observing her delicate hands aligning the folds and outlines of the clothing. _Sometimes I wonder how Okaa-san can be so perfect…_

"Ne, Okaa-san, I've just been wondering…" started Raya as she twiddled her thumbs.

"Yes?" opened up Sakuno.

"…Rin, Kazuo, Cho-chan, Masaru, Minoru, Chiharu-chan (younger sister to Echizen Minoru, three months old), Shun, Yuuna, Takuma, Kenta, and Nori all are great cousins, although they're not related to me. And I have really nice jii-san's and baa-san's, and I have you, Okaa-san…"

Something stirred in Sakuno's chest, and she stopped midway from folding the last t-shirt. She quickly finished folding it, but did not put it into the pile. She waited for her daughter to finish, even though she knew, somehow, _**that…**_

"But where is Papa?"

…_**it would lead to this…**_

"Has he gone somewhere?"

…_**she knew she couldn't hide the truth forever from her daughter…**_

"Or did he leave us?" Raya finished asking, and then looked directly at her mother's eyes.

…_**because she would have to know someday that…**_

Sakuno took a deep breath as her hands shook. She gripped on the crease of her pants, and looked down. Her chest hurt so much, she somehow couldn't come and tell her daughter. It would be too painful for the both of them, and the results would be too drastic. She couldn't come and see the wonderful smiling face of her daughter, Ryuzaki Raya, to break down and suffer. It had been already too much to hide it from her, and her own daughter had grown and bloomed into something beautiful. Sakuno couldn't bear to chain her and see that happiness gone from her life.

_**...her own Okaa-san has been lying to her…**_

"I dearly miss your Papa, Raya-chan," said Sakuno as she patted her head, "But he's in France working for our sake. He has been sending in money every month, and although he is unable to write or call us, he has been supporting us."

_**...that she had a father…**_

"Oh yea, he did write a little note with the words 'Thank You'. I remember that. You showed me it, and it's still in my drawer. It really means a lot to me," said Raya.

…_**who was far away from Japan…**_

"That's good," said Sakuno cheerfully, "But I know that someday, your Papa will come back from France, and you will meet him. He is truly a wonderful, caring person."

…_**working for the sake of her family…**_

"I want to meet him! I really do, Okaa-san!" begged Raya, tugging on the shirt of her mother. She smiled in reply, and whispered softly, "You will, Raya-chan."

…_**but in truth which she had been hiding…**_

"Hai, Okaa-san!" determinedly said Raya, and she collected her folded laundry, kissing her mother on the cheek at the same time. "Oyasumi, Okaa-san." Then she ran upstairs to her room, closing the door behind her.

…_**the fact that he wasn't really away at all…**_

Sakuno watched her daughter's back retreating up the stairs to the second floor. She recollected herself and went up to the second floor as well, placing the laundry in the correct drawers. After that, she went to her room and closed the door behind her.

…_**the fact that he wasn't supporting them…**_

Sakuno slid on the door and slumped to the floor, hugging her knees and burying her head. She pushed herself up and changed into her night clothes, then laid on the master bed, pulling the blanket up to the point of having it under her armpits. She stared out the window, laying on her side.

…_**the fact that she really didn't have a father…**_

"Echiz – no, Ryoma-kun. Raya-chan needs you. She needs a father," spoke aloud Sakuno as she continued staring, sitting upright on her bed, "But it can't be helped, because you already have someone very important to you…" She looked down, and her eyes were ready to cry out all the pain she had been holding back from her daughter. She did not want her own daughter to see this, because she couldn't…she had been lying too much…

…_**because her father…**_

"She needs you, Ryoma-kun," she said, as tears began pouring out from her eyes. They trickled down her face and down the cheekbone. A wet spot on the bed sheet formed as Sakuno clenched the sheet tightly, her arms shaking for support. Her head was low, her eyes were closed and watery, and her hair covered the sides of her face.

_**...had already left them…**_

"I…need…you…Ryoma-kun…"

…_**in the darkness.**_

--------_  
Owari_  
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**A/N:** This was the longest chapter yet, and the next chapter will most likely be shorter. THREE MORE CHAPTERS UP TILL THE END! And for me, 'Owari' is the end of a chapter, not a story...if the story says 'Complete', then it's done! Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!


	10. Chapter Twelve: Near the End

August 3, 2007 to August 15, 2007 (REFORMATTED May 1, 2010)

**Disclaimers:** I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis and the wives of the regulars and such are Lifeless-heart's.  
**Summary:** Echizen Ryoma is now married, and he is ready to have a kid with Ryuzaki Sakuno. But what happens when some things just go terribly wrong? And what's with this extra person? Enjoy! _And don't forget to review please!_

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Chapter Twelve: Near the End_  
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"**Echiz – no, Ryoma-kun. Raya-chan needs you. She needs a father," spoke aloud Sakuno as she continued staring, sitting upright on her bed, "But it can't be helped, because you already have someone very important to you…" She looked down, and her eyes were ready to cry out all the pain she had been holding back from her daughter. She did not want her own daughter to see this, because she couldn't…she had been lying too much…**

…_**because her father…**_

"**She needs you, Ryoma-kun," she said, as tears began pouring out from her eyes. They trickled down her face and down the cheekbone. A wet spot on the bed sheet formed as Sakuno clenched the sheet tightly, her arms shaking for support. Her head was low, her eyes were closed and watery, and her hair covered the sides of her face.**

_**...had already left them…**_

"**I…need…you…Ryoma-kun…"**

…_**in the darkness.**_

She gripped her hand tightly and squeezed it with both of her own hands. The hand she felt was cold as ice, and there was barely any warmth to it. Placing her head on top of the linked hands, she hiccupped as she sat down next to her. Her bangs covered her eyes as she hung her head low, and the grip only grew tighter as she slowly opened her eyes, tears streaming out quickly. Her vision was blurry, but she could still see the outline of a person lying peacefully on the bed.

"Okaa-san…w-what happened to-o you…" coughed out fourteen-year-old Ryuzaki Raya as she hiccupped again, watching her mother sleeping on the hospital bed.

The two were currently in a hospital after being rushed by an ambulance from home. Her mother, Ryuzaki Sakuno, had fainted unconscious in her bedroom as Raya passed by it, curled up into a ball, clutching her chest and a photo frame. Immediately Raya called the emergency line, and quickly the car came over and took them to the hospital. They were lucky that she had made it in time before she could have really died in her sleep, but the hopes right now were slim, since the monitor showed that her heart slowly pulsed every few minutes or so, and that was worrying the teenager greatly.

_**Flashback One: Sakuno's Fainting**_

"_**Okaa-san! What's wrong? Wake up!" yelled Raya hysterically as she shook her mother's shoulder, trying to have her awaken. But to no avail, the adult remained motionless and continued shivering.**_

_**Quickly she grabbed the phone and dialed the emergency number, and in no time at all, an ambulance arrived while the front door came crashing down. Raya ran to the upstairs hallway and hollered from above, "Up here! Up here!" Immediately, the policemen and ambulance people followed her to her mother's room.**_

_**The doctors heaved her up onto the cot and dragged her downstairs, while the policemen shoved the teenager into the ambulance car, and soon Raya found herself hopping on the trunk floor as she grabbed something to balance herself. Soon, the police cars followed behind them, leaving behind a still household with the pieces of a photo frame gathered and collected into a trash can, the picture torn into small shreds.**_

_**The picture of a young girl with twisted braids smiling timidly whilst leaning against a boy with a puzzled look, having one of his eyes bandaged.**_

Ryuzaki Raya carefully observed her sick mother, who was only forty-one years old. She was wearing those hospital gowns, but it was so baggy because of her small size. Her skin was as white as snow, and the long auburn hair which she had cut during her years of living were spread out on the pillow. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was very miniscule and slow. Her heartbeat was thumping from time to time, which echoed throughout the silent room.

"Okaa-san, w-what's w-wrong? S-say s-omething-g…" choked out Raya, clenching her free hand tightly so that her knuckles began turning white. "W-what are y-you h-hiding-g fr-rom m-me?"

"There are many things which we have hid from you, Raya-chan," spoke a voice from behind. She whipped around to see her Tomo-baa-chan and Hideki-jii-chan standing at the doorway of the hospital room as well as her cousin, Suzuka Osakada Chouko.

"Tomo-baa-chan…Hideki-jii-chan…Cho-chan…" whispered Raya to herself as she quickly wiped the tears away from her. "W-why are you all here?"

"I got a phone call from the hospital that Sakuno-san collapsed at home," said Hideki, holding up his cell phone, "So I picked up your Tomo-baa-chan and Chouko-chan and we drove to the hospital to see how she was."

Chouko skipped over to her older cousin and tugged her arm impatiently, "Raya-nee-chan! How is Sakuno-baa-chan?"

The teenager sighed worriedly before patting her younger cousin on the head, ruffling her hair, "Sakuno-baa-chan will be ok; she just needs some rest."

Or she wished that, at least.

"Chouko-chan, come here," gestured her uncle as he waved two of his fingers. Chouko did exactly as she was told and walked towards her father.

"Let us leave Raya-chan, Okaa-san, and Sakuno-baa-chan alone for a few minutes, ok?" he said, pulling his child gently towards the door. The girl only nodded and turned back to wave at her mother and cousin before venturing off with her father. Silence ensued once more, and the sound of the monitor echoed throughout the room.

Raya, finding her voice once more, broke the silence, "Um…Tomo-baa-chan?"

"Hm?"

"W-what's happening-g to Okaa-san?"

Tomoka could only sigh warily and look directly at her niece and best friend before staring at the ground. Grunting to herself before speaking aloud, she murmured, "Well we can't hide forever, neh, Sakuno?

"Raya-chan, your mother, she has been suffering from…depression," said Tomoka. Raya only widened her eyes in disbelief, and bolted out from her chair angrily.

"Depression?!" she yelled, her voice growing louder and louder, "Okaa-san has been suffering depression for how long, and how come she hasn't told me?!"

"Calm down, Raya!" ordered her aunt, standing up from her seat and eying her niece angrily, breathing heavily. The teenager huffed before quietly settling back down on the chair. Osakada placed a hand on her forehead to lean on, while supported with her arm on her thigh.

"Sakuno has been suffering from depression ever since your father left," she said roughly, rubbing her temples, "She has been taking medication, but it seems to be worsening it. So we stopped, and then the side effects kicked in. And one of them, as you have seen quite consistently happening, is when she collapses as her legs give way."

_**Flashback Two: Depression**_

"_**Congratulations, Mrs.! You have just given birth to a baby girl!" announced the nurse happily as she lowered the newborn into Sakuno's arms. She smiled widely and rocked the baby back and forth until two other nurses came in to cleanse the infant.**_

"_**You have a wonderful baby, Mrs.," praised the doctor, who came in with a clipboard and pen in his hands. "So we must make sure your health is in shape." He walked towards his patient, and began pressing some buttons on the machines. Soon some strange scribbles and reading appeared on the screens, and the doctor quickly jotted down his observations before turning his attentions towards Sakuno.**_

"_**There seems to be quite a breakdown in your brain. Are you all right, Mrs.?" he asked politely, his voice anxious. Sakuno only shook her head impatiently and smiled, reassuring him, "I'm fine, really."**_

"_**If you insist," said the doctor, "But I will prescribe some medications for you to take in case this worsens. Watch how much of the medicine you take, and make sure not to become addicted."**_

"_**Hai," meekly answered the woman as she nodded her head before accepting her newborn gratefully from the nurses.**_

There was a pregnant pause before Raya questioned her aunt, "Tomo-baa-chan, why does Okaa-san collapse for medical problems and not for clumsiness?" She of course, had witnessed her own mother's clumsiness and her role as a klutz at times.

Tomoka sighed and continued explaining, "The doctor who prescribed her the medication was the exact person who I yelled at. I blamed him for drowsing Sakuno terribly into the pills. But it wasn't the medications' fault, but rather her body."

_**Flashback Three: Rejection**_

"_**You lazy ass doctor! What kind of pills did you give Sakuno?!" bellowed Osakada as she slammed a fist on the table, her face furrowed. The doctor only looked at her in fear before taking a deep breath and calming her down.**_

"_**Miss, if you are talking about Ryuzaki Sakuno, then I prescribed her pills that would treat her depression," answered the doctor coolly as he turned away to shuffle some files.**_

"_**Then why is she going crazy and all? Why is she more sad?!" she hollered. The doctor's back was turned as if in ignorance, and he breathed once more before explaining.**_

"_**Mrs. Sakuno as I first observed, has a very weak heart and mind. If the pills I prescribe to her have not improved her current state, it proves that she herself is rejecting the help provided in the medicine." Tomoka's eyes widened, and she leaned in closer to hear the rest.**_

"_**Because she rejects the medication and does not have the will to tell her body to heal, the brain cells and nerves that direct to her legs do not reach to the lower part of her body. Therefore, her legs will stay immobilized at times and will not do as she says, which is why she collapses at a timely basis."**_

"So that's why…" she mumbled to herself as her fingers began to shake. Her eyes widened in surprise, and as she turned to look at her aunt, she questioned again, "B-but what caused all this, Tomo-baa-chan?!"

Tomoka only stared at the teenager with big pupils. She herself began to shake all over, unaware of her current condition though. She began sweating profusely around the forehead as she opened her mouth to speak, but her voice was silent. The woman did not make any sound, and continued to stare at the floor. Raya was becoming impatient, and she stomped her foot in her place.

"Tomo-baa-chan!" yelled Raya, "Tell me! NOW!"

But she paid no attention to her, and Tomoka continued to remain in her current state. "I can't…I just can't…" said the woman to herself, trailing off.

"Tomo-baa-" shouted Raya, ready to break her voice box when a hand shot out and grasped one of her trembling wrists. Both females snapped and averted their eyes towards the owner of the gripper, and at the same time they both whispered:

"Sakuno…"

"Okaa-san…"

Sakuno's eyes were barely opened, but her iris and pupil were visible to the eye. Her hand was glued on tightly to her daughter's wrist, and the veins and bones of her body were clearly outlined so that the material of the bones could be felt. Her appearance was weak and fragile, but the grip around her wrist, as Raya felt, was strong-willed. She could only gasp before hugging her mother in happiness.

"Okaa-san!"

Raya wrapped her arms around her sick mother and began crying tears of joy. Every second that passed the bond grew tighter and tighter, and the teenager could not bring herself to let go of her mother. She did not want her to suffer again, she told herself, and she swore to herself that she would protect her from now on. Her mother was too fragile and to frail to fall into the darkness. Sakuno tugged a smile from her lips and returned the hug weakly, but her daughter got the message. Raya only cried more and more.

"Raya-chan," Sakuno's faint voice rattled, "Don't cry, Okaa-san is right here…"

After a few minutes of hugging, Raya finally released her mother and wiped the tears away, "I'm so happy that you're alive, Okaa-san!"

"Thank you, Raya," said Sakuno, then she slowly turned her head towards her childhood friend, "Tomo-chan, would you mind sending my regards for Hideki-san and Chouko-chan that I am well?"

"Hai, Sakuno," replied Tomoka as she walked towards her, grasping her weak hand, "And thank you for being my friend." Tears were threatening to spill, and Osakada tried her best to hold them back.

Sakuno smiled and reassured her, "Thank you, Tomo-chan. I'll see you soon…"

Tomoka nodded her head and tightly squeezed her hand before slowly placing it onto the hospital bed sheet. Walking to the door, she gave one last nervous glance at her friend before heading out of the hospital room.

Once her aunt was out of the room, Raya took a seat beside her mother and began bustling her with health questions.

"Are you all right now, Okaa-san? How are you feeling? Do you have a headache? Do you need water?"

"Calm down, Raya-chan," gestured Sakuno gratefully, "I'm glad that you are worried for me, but I need to tell you something."

The teenager nodded her head towards her mother as she pulled a chair, echoing a large squeaky sound throughout the entire room. For a while, silence ensued again as Sakuno stared at the ceiling while her daughter stared at her mother. Taking a deep breath while still looking upwards, Sakuno began to speak, although her voice was low, hoarse, and scratchy.

"Your father is a wonderful person," was what she said, which greatly surprised Raya. She hadn't expected her Okaa-san to speak of such a thing. Finding her voice to reply, she managed to croak back, "What was he like?"

"He is a wonderful man, as I have said. He is the gentleman with manners and all, and although he is cocky and has a cold personality, deep inside, you will find a warm and caring male who watches over you with his life. He is a true knight and savior in my eyes, and will the best husband I will ever come to love."

"If all that is him, Okaa-san, then why did he leave for France?" asked Raya as she leaned in closer to hear her mother's explanation. She felt the hesitation in her parent's voice before she spoke.

"Because he is working for money since I do not have a job and I have to take care of you," simply said Sakuno, but Raya continued egging her.

"But I'm old enough now! Tell him to come back, Okaa-san! Tell him that his own daughter wants him to come back from France!"

Sakuno bit her bottom lip and breathed heavily, clenching her fist tightly before releasing. "I can't."

"Why not?!" yelled Raya as she jumped from her seat. "I want to see him, why can't I see him?!"

"That's because -"

"Because of what?!" her voice grew louder, and the patients next door could hear the cries of the uncontrollable teenager, "Is it because he hates me so much? Is that why he left me with you? Does he really hate having a girl that much, and wants a boy to inherit his tennis skills? IS THAT IT, IS THAT IT?!" Tears began falling out from the girl's eyes as she collapsed onto the floor, kneeling while her hands gripped for support on the slippery surface. Her head hung low as the bangs of her hair showered, hiding her forehead. She hiccupped from time to time until a hand patted her on the head, and with her eyes red and puffy and water trickling down her cheeks, she looked up to see a gentle smile that completely healed her soul – her mother.

"Sit up, Raya-chan," softly spoke Sakuno, and Raya did as she was told.

"Your father did not leave because of you," explained the woman, "It is because of work and to achieve his dream as a professional tennis player. However," her voice rasped and sounded afraid, "He has another reason for his actions."

"Another…reason?" croaked the daughter, as she began trembling all over. Sakuno's hand enclosed her daughter's as she squeezed it tightly.

"Because of his heart, he tends to wander lost and never knows who to truly protect. Which is why your father left for France…"

"I don't understand, Okaa-san…did he not leave me…" she gulped before finishing her question, "…but left you for another person?" She worriedly looked at her mother. Sakuno nodded lightly and turned to look at the window as she released her grasps.

"Anyone would do anything for him, even give up their most prized possession. I guess you could say he's a celebrity, and then he comes his way to marry someone who is weak and selfish," said the mother, "He aids the weak and defeats the strong, even if is he one himself. But my former husband definitely deserves someone better than I do…"

"Don't say that, Okaa-san!" cheered up Raya as she clasped her mother's palm, "You are the best woman and mother anyone could have! Don't say such things!"

"Unfortunately Raya," sadly said the patient, "You are the one who is wrong…because I have done many terrible things…"

"Okaa-san! Stop putting yourself down!" shouted her daughter as she shook her head wildly and tears began forming again. Her mother only patted her on the shoulder and shook her head.

"Why do you always do this? You always put others before you…why…why?!"

"Because that is what a mother does, right?" she said as she smiled, "But I deserve to be like this, since I have hidden many things from you…"

"You had a reason to protect me though, Okaa-san! I forgive you, I forgive you!" she cried as she slapped herself onto the medical bed. Sakuno continued to soothe her daughter by patting her on the head.

"Shhh…don't cry now, Raya," calmed her mother, "I know you forgive me, but it isn't that simple…I have hid many secrets from you and gifts as well from your father…"

"G-gifts?" choked the teenager as she stared at her mother with teary eyes.

"Yes, like this one…" said Sakuno as she unchained a small necklace around her bony neck and connected it back on her daughter's. "Your father told me that when you were born, I would give this to you as a piece of his love…" The necklace was silver and was weaved in a pattern with chains; at the end of it, there was a tennis ball manufactured as the main subject.

"Okaa-san, I couldn't take this. It's yours," rejected Raya, as she began unchaining it, but her mother stopped her.

"It's rightfully yours from the day you were born, Raya," firmly stated Sakuno as her eyes started to water, "I broke the promise with your father and kept it to myself because…I missed him so much." She cried and sobbed as her hands tried to stop the overflowing of tears, but only soaked through the tiny holes between her fingers.

"Okaa-san…" mumbled the teenager as she brought her mother close to her chest and wrapped her arms around the woman, embracing her. "It's not your fault…even if I want to see him so badly as well…I forgive you…"

_I've been so selfish; my death is my penance for being such a terrible mother._

Lifting her head from her mother's shoulder, she stared at her to only gasp and deliberately let go of her out of her grasps, allowing her Okaa-san to bounce against the medical bed.

Sakuno's eyes were now closed and her mouth was sealed tightly. Her wavy hair sprawled across the pillow as her bangs hovered over her eyelids. She was a dead pale color now, and her entire body was cold and freezing. She lied on the bed, motionless, as her hand slipped off the bed sheet and hung dead over the edge. Leaking under her eyelids were traces of blood and water mixed together, and they marked all over her cheeks.

Raya felt a thousand daggers pierce through her entire body, and she fell down to her knees, her hands nearing her own teary face. Burying herself in her palms, she shook her head, not believing the reality and the truth she had just learned. The loose necklace slowly dropped to the ground with a light clutter, and echoed in the silence of sorrows and cries. She could only cry out all her sorrows and feelings for her mother, who could not hear her now.

"Okaa-san…don't leave me…don't leave me!"

Banging her fists onto the floor, she cried in despair as she observed her dead mother, who continued crying herself. The pain was too much; and she felt so lonely now without anyone to watch over her. Snatching the chain and unfolding it from her hand, the silver slithers shone brightly as the light reflected upon it. She clutched it tightly, her fingers trembling and her knuckles turning white, to the verge of breaking it apart.

"I promise, Okaa-san…that I will make him…"

_I'm sorry, Raya, for being such a terrible mother._

"…suffer…"

_It's not that simple._

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Owari_  
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**A/N:** This chapter seems crappy, because I'm off schedule and lazy… xD Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!


	11. Chapter Thirteen: Difficult Revelations

August 16, 2007 to August 20, 2007 (REFORMATTED May 1, 2010)

**Disclaimers:** I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis and the wives of the regulars and such are Lifeless-heart's.  
**Summary:** Echizen Ryoma is now married, and he is ready to have a kid with Ryuzaki Sakuno. But what happens when some things just go terribly wrong? And what's with this extra person? Enjoy! _And don't forget to review please!_

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_Chapter Thirteen: Difficult Revelations_  
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"**Okaa-san…don't leave me…don't leave me!"**

**Banging her fists onto the floor, she cried in despair as she observed her dead mother, who continued crying herself. The pain was too much; and she felt so lonely now without anyone to watch over her. Snatching the chain and unfolding it from her hand, the silver slithers shone brightly as the light reflected upon it. She clutched it tightly, her fingers trembling and her knuckles turning white, to the verge of breaking it apart.**

"**I promise, Okaa-san…that I will make him…"**

_**I'm sorry, Raya, for being such a terrible mother.**_

"…**suffer…"**

_**It's not that simple.**_

"Forget it, Ryoma! I give up!" shouted Lyanstz Ritsuko from the bedroom wardrobe as she threw a bunch of hanged clothes onto their master bed while Echizen Ryoma came out of the bathroom half-naked as he wiped his hair dry with a white, fluffy towel. His eyes narrowed at the sight of his wife and he bluntly ordered, "No."

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Ritsuko bellowed in his ear, "I'm just wondering how anyone can become your wife if all you do is eat, sleep, bath, play tennis, play band, and drink countless cans of Ponta everyday!" She shoved her folded garments into one of her suitcases and locked it tight before latching another one open, "And you don't take us anywhere secluded or special when the two of us are alone. You just go and spend your own time wandering around when I have to watch over the kids!" Throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation, she sighed heavily before digging through the chest drawer as she flung her make up accessories into the other suitcase.

"Well," retaliated Ryoma as he placed on a clean shirt, "It's not my fault if you hate what I do. Playing tennis and publishing songs and performing concerts are what make up my life."

Ritsuko pointed a finger at him and fought back, "So I'm assuming that you don't have time for women?" He could only turn white and blank out, not realizing that. "Look Ryoma, you have a good heart and all that, but I'm just tired of your life. Your life revolves too much on tennis and music, and you just ignore your family. You've been working hard to save money for our children, but what about _me_?" She emphasized the last word as she slammed the other suitcase shut, and she proceeded to carry them off the bed.

"I'll make it up to you," he said gruffly, "Just wait."

"Is waiting all that I can do? You're making me wait every second, and I am sick and tired of it. I am grateful that you showed me a new light to my life, and I am very happy that I got to spend time with you, but those days are over." She neared the exit of their bedroom, and she turned to look back at her husband once more, "I'm sorry Ryoma, but our relationship is over. I already called a divorce of, and I'm taking the children with me. You can keep half of the money earned, though." Her hand pulled the door knob and the door opened with a click, and she sighed heavily before she expressed her finishing thoughts.

"I loved you once, but I will never again. Goodbye, Echizen Ryoma."

And the door closed with finality, and never again did Lyanstz Ritsuko appear through the doorway.

Soon, every member of the Lyanstz family moved to a different place from Japan, further away from Ritsuko's former husband. Divorced was called, and now Echizen was alone. At first, he thought he could handle the stress and pain. But after a week's worth, he was tired and weary, and he needed someone to rely on. Changing his clothes, he closed the front door behind him and proceeded to walk over to a certain place in order to settle things, unaware of what was to come…

**At the Osakada Resident**

"Tomo-chii, I'm going to out with Chouko-chan to have her tennis racket restrung!" called Hideki as he placed a coat around his ten year old daughter's body and opened the front door, "See you soon!"

"Hai!" called Tomoka as she hurried down the stairs to see her husband and oldest daughter go out, "I'll take care of Chika-chan at home!" And the door closed shut as Tomoka smiled at the two walking out onto the sidewalk.

"I wonder when Raya-chan is coming back from tennis practice…" thought aloud the housewife as she proceeded to make a quick supper in the kitchen when the doorbell rang.

"Ah, Raya-chan must be home!" ecstatically cried the woman as she hurried to open the door for her niece.

"Ray – Ryoma-sama?"

Standing firmly in front of the Osakada resident was a man plainly dressed and wearing a black leather coat. His hair swayed in the fierce wind, and under the collar of his jacket he muffled, "Osakada, you could at least let me in."

"Ah, hai, Ryoma-sama!" frantically said the female, half surprised and half excited as she hurried him inside the snuggled house and closed the door, rushing to the kitchen to prepare some green tea.

"Make yourself at home, R-ryoma-sama. I'll prepare some tea for you."

"Hn," he bluntly answered, and inwardly Tomoka squealed.

After a good few minutes of inspecting the Osakada's living room, he relaxed and sagged into the sofa, taking off his coat and laying it on the armchair. The female entered with a tray of two steaming cups of tea.

"Here you go, Ryoma-sama," said Tomoka as she offered him a warm cup of the liquid, and he accepted. Ryoma took a quick sip before setting it onto the glass table. He eyed his acquaintance with an unreadable expression and began the conversation, "Osakada, where's Sakuno?"

The woman looked nervously at her idol as she twitched nervously, twiddling her thumbs as she stared at her newly bought carpet. "Um, Sakuno is at…she's at…"

"I'm home!" burst a young woman as she flung the door open. She wore the same Seigaku High (eleventh grade) girls' uniform from many years ago, but replacing the short blue skirt was a pair of faded blue Capri. On her left shoulder hung her large tennis racket bag, and her pale blue visor was placed on tightly around her forehead, covering the sunlight from her eyes. The high ponytail on the back of her head was looped into one large braid and it swung playfully as she took one step at a time. Closing the door behind her, she took off her cap and wiped her sweaty forehead with the sleeve of her uniform. "Tomo-baa-chan, you can just leave the supper on the table…" Her voice trailed off when she saw her father sitting on the opposite sofa of her aunt's seated place. Echizen turned and faced his first daughter.

"Sakuno!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening.

"Papa!" happily cried Raya as she saw the figure of one of her long lost father.

"Huh?" both said at the same time, confused. Tomoka could only sigh in exasperation before gesturing her niece to take a seat and rest from after school tennis practice.

"Raya-chan, why don't you relax and change while I take your things to your room and prepare some tea and a snack for you?" offered her aunt, and she nodded. After changing into her favorite home clothes, Raya settled herself to sit opposite of her uncle.

"I'll leave you two alone to talk then, Ryoma-sama, Raya-chan," she said as she climbed upstairs, leaving the two sitting quietly, opposite of each other.

"Good evening, Ryoma-jii-chan," softly greeted the second year of Seigaku High, and he nodded in acknowledgement. "Good evening to you, Raya."

There was a heavy atmosphere between the pair, so that even Tomoka could feel it while serving her niece a cup of steaming green tea and an energy bar which were a favorite to Raya. She could only sweat drop at the two before mentally noting that it was to turn out this way as she took her leave elsewhere.

After what seemed hours, Echizen gathered his courage to speak out, "Um, Raya, is Sakuno home?"

That was a great shock to the teenager, a feeling of electric shocks burning her body to pieces. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and shook her head. "O-okaa-san is not here."

"Oh, is that so?" said Ryoma coolly as he blinked at her unusually, sensing something wrong, "Then I'll wait for her until she comes then, if you don't mind."

Once again, Raya felt the tingles and shudders throughout her entire body. Clenching her fists tightly, she murmured under her breath just loud enough for him to hear. "I don't mind, but Okaa-san isn't coming back."

"Hm?" he asked, quite confused. Yet another part of him worried that Sakuno might have already left him. _She can get tired of waiting…che, women… _"All right, then I'll come back later…" he said with finality, but something prevented him from moving. Turning his head, he laid his eyes on Raya to find her gripping his wrist tightly, her head hung low as the bangs showered over her eyes.

"Stay," she whispered quietly, and slowly and cautiously he took his seat again on the sofa, watching every moment she made as she released her grip around his wrist. He looked at her intently; the way she looked so down and depressed worried him greatly. Had he done something wrong?

"Okaa-san, she's…" Raya started, but could not bring herself to finish it. She struggled to find the words so that her uncle would understand and not faint from the shock. Tears were ready to spill out at any moment as she fought back, pursing her lips tightly. Her entire body began shaking all over, and at the verge of the cliff she couldn't take it anymore. She had to tell somebody; she hadn't told anyone of this news but the Osakada family since they were the second to witness this tragic incident. Her voice quivered greatly, and she managed to hoarsely finish her statement.

"…gone forever."

And she broke into tears as she buried her face in her hands, while Echizen could only gape at her confusingly. Dense as he was, it took him a while for him to understand what she really meant. Then he solemnly looked at Raya who was hiccupping as the water streamed down her face and dripped through the holes between the enclosed fingers.

He tried to find his voice, but it seemed impossible. His Sakuno was gone forever, and she had left him just when he needed her. Now the world had come to an end. First he leaves his first lover, then his second lover leaves him, and then his first departs from the world. How worse could it get? It was his mistake, after all, to leave him for someone else who was in a weak state. All he wanted to do was to help her stand on her two feet again, but instead he ended up falling for her. What the heck – was that really the way to continue on with his life?

Now that both Sakuno and Ritsuko had departed from his life, the only thing he could was state the truth to his first daughter…and bring her back with him, no matter the consequences and hardships he would have to conquer. As he opened his mouth to speak, the grown teenager continued speaking as if in soliloquy.

"Okaa-san was lonely and depressed because Otou-san left her for someone else. She always described Otou-san as a kind and loving person, with a caring heart that hid beneath his cold features. But he left her, damn it! He left her, Ryoma-jii-chan!" Raya pounded her fists onto the glass table, nearly shattering it into pieces.

"What kind of person would do that? He even swore eternal love to her!" she cried through her tears, "And yet Okaa-san didn't mind at all. She always cared for others and not for herself! I loved her so much, and now I lost her!"

"Raya –"

"What kind of a daughter am I? I only used my own mother to have my own needs, and Okaa-san doesn't blame me because she's my mother and I'm her daughter. But I used her to achieve happiness, while she lives on her own happiness! It's not fair, it's just not! And just when stupid Otou-san left her, damn it!"

"Calm down –"

She was practically going into frenzy now, uncontrollable as she continued yelling hoarsely as if nonsense, "I'M THE WORST DAUGHTER THERE IS, BECAUSE I CAN'T EVEN SAVE MY OWN MOTHER FROM DEPRESSION. WHAT KIND OF A PERSON AM I IF I DON'T EVEN TAKE THE TIME TO LISTEN TO OKAA-SAN'S PROBLEMS?!" Tears continuously streamed and rolled down her cheeks, and Echizen finally stood from his seat and placed his hands firmly on the hiccupping girl, wiping away her tears with his fingers.

"Raya, calm down. Do you think Sakuno would really want to see you like this?" he inquired, raising a brow as he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and carefully dabbing it onto her red, puffy eyes and stained cheeks. Mentally smirking, he thought, _She reminds me so much of Sakuno…_

But now wasn't the time to think or say of such things. He had to say it now, or his chance to do so would slip away from his hands for the rest of his life. The time was now, and there was no turning back. He was going to say it, and say it straight to her face, no matter her reaction. He was ready for anything.

"Sa – Raya," he confidently said, clearing his throat. She slowly opened her eyes and directed her attention towards her uncle.

"There's something I need to tell you, because you seem confused about what your mother really wanted…" he began explaining, and she was quite puzzled at his statement. But she urged for her uncle to continue.

"The truth is…" She held her breath, waiting for all of it to come out. He had a weary look on his face, his head hung low as the bangs covered the sight of his feline golden-like eyes.

"I'm your idiotic father who left your mother for someone else…"

And her entire world shattered into a million pieces as if it were a mirror.

She took a step back, careful not to fall onto the couch, stunned. She couldn't believe it – no, she wouldn't believe it. One part of her was happy that she had found her long lost father at last, and another was angry for her father's actions. But she didn't know which to choose, which to act about, and which to feel. It was all too confusing and bewildering for her now; so much pressure had been placed onto her shoulders, she felt that she could break at any moment.

And one of them was now.

"N-no…" she stammered, shocked. She placed one of her hands over her mouth, gaping at her recently discovered father, who was all this time, her uncle. The truth was too much to take and handle as the truth; it would not register in her mind correctly.

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she shook her head nonstop. She felt as if she were being dragged into the burning and sizzling depths of Hell, and the sweet sound of her mother's voice suddenly rang in her ears.

_I'm sorry for being such a terrible mother_.

Realizing _her_ truth, she snapped back into reality and with a deadly glare shot a glance at her "father", who was still in the same state as before, just like her Okaa-san. Raya shook her head, pushing away the sympathy which was building inside of her. Angrily narrowing her eyes, she furrowed her brows and pointed at her "father" with a shaking finger.

"I HATE YOU!"

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_Owari_  
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**A/N: **Three more chapters, actually! Sorry if this chapter is a little shorter than the usual 8-10 pages... I made a change in my agenda, and so it'll be just a little longer before the ending… OH MY GOD MY OTHER STORIES! O-O Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!


	12. Chapter Fourteen: Refreshing Tranquility

August 21, 2007 to August 24, 2007 (REFORMATTED May 1, 2010)

**Disclaimers:** I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis and the wives of the regulars and such are Lifeless-heart's.  
**Summary:** Echizen Ryoma is now married, and he is ready to have a kid with Ryuzaki Sakuno. But what happens when some things just go terribly wrong? And what's with this extra person? Enjoy! _And don't forget to review please!_

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Chapter Fourteen: Refreshing Tranquility_  
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**Her eyes widened in disbelief as she shook her head nonstop. She felt as if she were being dragged into the burning and sizzling depths of Hell, and the sweet sound of her mother's voice suddenly rang in her ears.**

_**I'm sorry for being such a terrible mother...**_

**Realizing **_**her**_** truth, she snapped back into reality and with a deadly glare shot a glance at her "father", who was still in the same state as before, just like her Okaa-san. Raya shook her head, pushing away the sympathy which was building inside of her. Angrily narrowing her eyes, she furrowed her brows and pointed at her "father" with a shaking finger.**

"**I HATE YOU!"**

"_I HATE YOU!"_

Those words etched into Echizen's mind and soul, as it tore through his heart, oozing out fresh blood from the source. It clawed against the pulse of the heart, and he felt a stab to it. It pained a lot; no – it pained so much that he though his entire world had come to an end. He had told himself, after all, he would be able to handle it. He would conquer all, and every obstacle in order for her to come back to him.

"_I HATE YOU!"_

Although he knew it, his body and mind of its entirety did not. He only stood as frozen as an iced statue, his eyes widening in disbelief. He almost felt as if he could be tipped back if he were to be flicked with a finger. This throbbing feeling that he now bore, it were as if the same pain and experience that someone similar had to go through. _But who?_ he thought, wondering as he continued to stand still.

"_I HATE YOU!"_

Maybe if he hadn't made those stupid mistakes, things would not end up as they were now. Maybe if he hadn't left Sakuno in the first place for Ritsuko, things would not end us as they were now. Maybe if he hadn't fallen for Ritsuko in the first place, things would not end us as they were now. Maybe if…oh god, it was aching his head so much now.

"_I HATE YOU!"_

He admitted it – he was the worst father for this child. First he left her, then he secretly hid from her, and now he drove her insane. Oh, what a father he was.

Raya continued to stand, pointing shakily at her "uncle" with a finger, trembling greatly while clutching her other hand towards her chest. Her eyes were as large as plates now, and the tears did not stop from spilling, for they continued rolling down her cheeks. What she felt now was confusion, paranoid, anger, disappointment…so many emotions mixed into one, the emotion called…Hell.

Ryoma could only stare at his shaking daughter, who could not control herself anymore. She could shatter any moment, and he would repeat the same mistake again. If he helped her, she would break apart. If he left her, she would cry herself to depression. He was stuck in the middle – it seemed that either way, all those dear to him would endure the same fate…

He slowly walked past the teenager and went towards the coat rack and picked up his black leather jacket. Quickly buttoning the first two close to his chest, he opened the door knob and looked back, eyeing the female. She was in the same stance as a few seconds before. Seizing his chance, he took a deep breath and spoke:

"Good-bye, Raya."

And out the door he sauntered, closing the door with a soft click.

And once again, he had left another close to his heart: his own daughter.

**The Fuji Household**

"…The rumors are true, and once again, the tennis prince and rock star, the Echizen Ryoma, has broken up with his second wife! Unbelievable; is he a player or what? Stay tuned for our updated report!" The person clicked the power button on the remote, and the television zapped off. He laid back on the couch, relaxed as he looked towards the ceiling, pondering to himself.

"Syuusuke," called a soft voice from the kitchen as she walked into the living room carrying a tray with his dinner on it. Fuji Rila sat down next to her husband on the couch and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Aniki gave me a call about…"

"I know," said Fuji, sighing. He ruffled his wife's hair before staring at her. "I saw it on the news. He's some famous person, that Echizen."

"That's why I told Aniki to not go near that woman, damn it!" she whispered hoarsely, bringing a fist in the air. Fuji grasped her angered fist and calmed her down.

"Echizen has made many mistakes, but he's human right?" questioned Fuji. Rila only nodded her head and allowed him to continue. "It's his decision to believe what is right and do it, even if it means losing someone precious. And now that Lyanstz-san has left him, he can go back to Sakuno and rebuild their lost relationship."

"That's the thing, Aniki," pointed out Rila, "You see, I heard from Tomo-chan that…"

And for the rest of the night, the parents bade their daughter, Rin, good night and slept earlier than usual, leaving the chicken soup cold.

**At the Osakada Resident**

"Tomo-baa-chan! Leave me alone!" screeched the teenager as she furiously threw her pillows through the open doorway, the pillows barely missing her aunt. Tomoka managed to survive the pillow toss before entering her room as Raya continued to bury herself under the covers of her bed.

"Raya…" soothingly murmured Tomoka as she patted her on the head. The teenager peeked out and reluctantly climbed out of her warm blankets, sitting next to her aunt.

"I know how you're feeling right now…"

"Baa-chan does NOT understand how I feel," said Raya angrily, emphasizing the negative word. Tomoka sighed before continuing.

"Raya, you shouldn't put yourself down like that. And I want to say a few things to you; it's ok if you're not listening though." Raya hung her head low, trying to ignore what her aunt said.

"Since your Okaa-san passed away, we gave you this room, didn't we? It's your mother's room, and we moved you out of your old one so that Chouko and Chika could share a room since they're the youngest. Even though it pained you to enter your mother's room, you did so anyway and treasured all her belongings, keeping and tucking them away into safe places."

_**Flashback One: The Room**_

"_**Welcome to your new room, R-raya," said Tomoka as she opened the door to a fairly large room, larger than half the room she had last time in which she shared with Chouko. The bed was neatly made, the curtains hung by the window, and everything was neatly placed as it just was before. The furniture in the room, however, was starting to collect dust from being left alone for three straight days. Raya excited rubbed her hands and placed them on her hips, declaring, "I'm going to clean up Okaa-san's room so I can sleep in this room, and so that Okaa-san has her share too!"**_

_**Raya had still not gotten over the fact that her mother already died, so she told herself that Sakuno was still alive. Pulling all her belongings into the room, she opened the curtains and window, allowing fresh air to circulate in the room. She placed on some old overalls and a white bandana on her head, and immediately began cleaning the entire place up.**_

_**Two Hours Later…**_

_**She was now digging through the closet, looking for some more hangers to hang her clothes when she bumped into a large, brown cardboard box. Curious as she was, Raya carefully pulled it out from the wardrobe and wiped the dust off before lifting the covers. She covered her mouth and gaped at the possessions inside.**_

_**Gently she took out a tube of tennis balls with fuzzy markings on them; the ink had smudged onto the inside of it. But by studying it carefully, she knew it was some sort of drawing, but she couldn't sort it out. Next, she pulled out a worn out racket and lifted it into the air, allowing the sunlight to pierce through the holes of the tennis racket. The strings were loose and had not been restrung for quite a while, she observed.**_

_**The next item taken out was a rather large photo album, marked "Seishun Gakuen". Blowing the dust off the cover, she slowly opened the hard cover and uncovered many pictures as she flipped through them. They were awfully familiar, those people who played such perfect tennis. It kind of reminded her of…her aunts and uncles. Smiling to herself, she continued to flip through the pages, unaware of the time that passed by, and the fact that she had not finished cleaning the room yet.**_

_**It was not long before around the lunch hour that she finished the enormous book of photos. She placed it back inside and smiled to herself, taking out the next album when her aunt called her from the first floor.**_

"_**Raya-chan! Lunch is ready, so come and eat! Clean later!" yelled Tomoka before returning to the living room to set up the table.**_

"_**Hai, Tomo-baa-chan!" hollered back Raya, and she left the second album pulled out unnoticed on the floor. Skipping down the stairs happily, Raya did not realize what the first photo would have been in the second album, "Wedding Days" if not for lunch.**_

"And your Okaa-san wished you the best after she passed away. Even though it was hard for you to bring yourself back up onto your two standing feet, you did it. And you can do it again with Ryoma-sama, Raya." Raya only remained silent, staring at the carpet.

"Ryoma-sama, or your father rather, is not a bad person. He's just a man who made wrong decisions, I think," shared Osakada as she looked up at the ceiling, "I used to like him in our younger days, you know. But Sakuno liked – no, loved him; too shy to admit her feelings though, and he was too dense. And before I knew it, the two of them got married. I couldn't believe it, and although I liked Ryoma-sama, I couldn't, because I wasn't good enough. And I was really hurt at this, but then I met your uncle, despite the previous years where I forced myself to feel happy, it hurt a lot.

"Your uncle was such a kind person; always comforting me and trying to be there every second for me. He is such a caring and loving person, and I truly loved him, more than Ryoma-sama. But we always got into little fights now and then, and the results of the brawls were quite drastic, because we went as far as breaking apart everything in our house. After that, I would always ponder how I made him suffer instead of myself."

Tomoka turned to look at her niece and patted her head reassuringly, "Raya, I may not be your mother, but I know her really well. We were childhood friends since…a long time, and she would not want you to be like this. To hate your own father because he left your mother is not right, I think, but he didn't leave you. Even if you say you hate him, you pity him, don't you?"

Raya felt her limit coming, as if she were being pushed off the edge of the cliff. She got up from her seat and walked straight out the room, her back facing her aunt. Osakada could not help but to smile, and as she heard the front door close, she looked out the window and sighed, shaking her head, "Sakuno-chan, she's finally grown up, huh?"

It now rained, a heavy downpour drenching the city of Tokyo.

**At the Echizen Household**

Echizen sat on the living room couch, coolly drinking some Ponta that he had bought on the way home. It was expected for his own daughter to act that way, after hiding from her for sixteen years and keeping it a secret. He closed his eyes in frustration and exhaustion, rubbing his temples. The stillness of the household was unbearable – something just had to happen, just something.

And as if his wish came true, the door bell rang, and lazily he got up and opened the door, to find an unexpected guest. The person was totally soaked from head to toe, their bangs shadowing their eyes as water dripped from the strands of hair. The clothes sagged and were so wet that the color of their skin faintly showed, but not enough to show the physical curves and outline of the person. Water dripped on the dry mini-porch and wooden floor of the house, and a puddle formed around the owner's feet.

"Who are you?" he asked, confused. He peeked under the bangs and found the owner's eyes half closed, as if they were tired. It was raining hard after all, and you were running for who-knows-how-long. Sighing, he dragged her inside, slammed the door shut, and brought her to the washroom to take a shower.

**An Hour Later**

"Done?" questioned Ryoma as he stared at the teenager who was wiping her hair with a towel now. She lightly nodded her head and sat on the opposite end of the couch, looking away as she continued ruffling her hair with the white cloth. Echizen proceeded to do the same: looking away from his daughter and sipping Ponta as if no one were there at all. The atmosphere indeed was heavy at times like these, and both sweat-dropped at that fact.

"Um…" started Raya, mumbling under her breath, but Ryoma intervened.

"I'm sorry for being such an idiotic father," he apologized, which greatly infuriated the female. She sprang from her seat, clutching the rag tightly as she showed a fist at her father, her eyes flaming.

"Stop apologizing and tell me why! If you don't even give me one good reason, I'll make you suffer!" yelled the high school student in a loud voice, her tone confident and angry.

He slowly lifted his head to face his daughter, who stood on the spot, fuming inwardly. Breathing heavily, he began to explain every little detail, looking down on the floor, twiddling his thumbs. He had never felt so nervous before in his life, just to say what happened before, and his reasons for his actions.

"I married your mother because she was weak, and I wanted to help her. Her beauty was indeed intriguing, and her personality was far too cute to resist, I admit that, but I wanted to support her and be there for her. I loved her because…because she was the only woman who would understand how I felt about her, and myself." Raya stood, her tense aura relaxing. She slowly sat on the couch and carefully observed her father.

"But when I met your aunt, or rather stepmother, she was in the same situation as the old Sakuno. I couldn't bear to see her suffer like Sakuno did if I had not married her. I wanted to make everyone sad happy, because that was what your mother always told me to do. She would always help others who needed support with her own life, as if it were so important and would make the biggest difference. And everything she does make a difference."

"How did you break up with her though?!" interjected Raya, and she covered her mouth and apologized for the sudden question. He waved a hand and continued, "When I confessed my love for someone else, she accepted my feelings readily. She said that she would wait for me until I came back to her. But I was too late."

_**Flashback Two: At the Café**_

_**He sighed to himself and hesitated a bit before continuing from where he left off, "I really love her, Sakuno. The love I have for her is different from yours. I love her because…I want to support her as well. I want to teach her to go down the right way to the path, and I don't want her to suffer anymore. She has already gone through a lot more than you and I did."**_

_**At this point, Sakuno broke his long story with her own reasoning, "Ryoma-kun, you don't have to say anymore." Her eyes were closed, and her voice was filled with confidence as she smiled contently, "Go for it, because you never know when that opportunity will be gone. Don't let it go before it's too late, Ryoma-kun."**_

_**Lastly, she gave her most reassuring smile, hoping that he would fall for it, "I'll be ok, Ryoma. Really, since I have Tomo-chan and senpai-tachi and their wives to support me. You just go and catch after her. And if you ever feel like coming back, I'll be right here waiting for you every day."**_

_**His eyes widened in amazement, surprised that she would actually accept it so wholeheartedly. He closed his eyes as a few tears dropped down from his tear duct, and he quickly wiped them away. He looked down at his own hands, staring at them what seemed a few minutes before taking action. Ryoma leaned towards Sakuno and gave her a light, chaste kiss on the forehead, and she immediately blushed at the suddenness of the kiss.**_

"_**Which is why I'm thanking you for being my first lover, Ryuzaki" he finished after breaking apart the kiss. Getting up, he excused himself and left the unfinished drink on the table. He left a couple yen on the table as tip, and walked out of the café.**_

_**Ryuzaki Sakuno helplessly stared at his coffee mug that sat motionless on the smooth marble surface. Steam still rose from the cup in little puffs and clouds, and her eyes followed the paths which curved and bended easily as willows, closely watching the vapor arouse about.**_

_**Her orbs were now shining brightly and glossily as the tears she held back before began to swell uncontrollably. Not realizing this, she continued to stare at the motionless mug while she drank the black coffee. It was just then that she turned her head to face the window, hoping to see her husband one last time before he was truly gone when she recognized the red, puffy eyes and water marks on her cheeks that she knew she had been crying.**_

_**Lifting a hand gently towards her face and dabbing the stains with her delicate fingers, she could only whisper huskily, hiccupping at the same time, "I'll wait for you, Ryoma-kun. Even if it takes my whole life until you come back. And I'll take care of Raya-chan myself." With her other hand, she rubbed the round and large stomach, which perfectly nestled the newborn.**_

_**Outside, the man with his hands stuffed in his jacket pocket and his face burrowed by the collar of his leather jacket walked casually as if nothing happened. Slowly, a light drizzle formed around the city, and immediately the pedestrians quickened their paces to reach their destinations. The man only stood still in the midst of the horde, looking up at the sky to observe and closely watch the crystal water drops flutter down to the ground lightly.**_

_**Turning his head away from the weather and looking down once more, he sighed heavily and looked back at him, as if he were waiting for something. But all he saw were people, and more people, and not that one coming.**_

_**Walking to the usual, he was lost in thought. At last, he had everything set, and for the final time, this would be the time where he would confess to her.**_

'_**I don't want to hurt you anymore, Sakuno.'**_

"The reason I left her was not just of my feelings, but if I had not told her the truth, she would have broke down even faster and have lived a shorter life. I wanted her to live, a happy life with you, Raya." He faced his daughter at the other end, outstretching a hand.

**Ryoma's Point of View**

After he had said all this, it seemed as if everything was slowly rebuilding together. The climax had reached its peak and was starting to fall, he felt. The pressure in his heart felt so much lighter, as if a heavy weight was lifted off his shoulders. It felt relieving and soothing to finally confess everything, to reason with his daughter. But yet he felt insecure, for her decision was the main thing that would keep the father-daughter relationship in its entirety. Ryoma felt his daughter so close, yet it seemed as if she were so far from him.

**Raya's Point of View**

Oh boy, she was so definitely wrong about her own father. He wasn't the insensitive or cold one that her Okaa-san described, but he was indeed soft and caring. Raya inwardly felt terrible about saying that she hated her father. Maybe if she had given it more thought and time, then she wouldn't have done that stupid thing to her. She outstretched her right hand, and the two shook.

**Normal Point of View**

"I'm sorry, Otou-san for saying that I hated you," apologized Raya as she tightly hugged her father. He patted her on the back reassuringly.

"Nothing to apologize about, it's my fault," he replied, and the two broke the embrace. He placed two hands on his daughter's shoulders. "I missed you, Raya."

"Otou-san…" murmured Raya, who was turning slightly red, embarrassed. She looked up and smiled at her father, and gave him another spontaneous hug. He tipped back, surprised.

"Neh, Otou-san, let's go outside," said Raya as she began to drag her father. Ryoma put on a puzzled expression.

"Why? It's raining heavily outside, and you'll catch a cold."

"No I won't," reassured the teenager, and she opened the front door, "Because it's only rain now." She pulled him out onto the front lawn of his household and let go of his hand, jumping and moving around on the wet, green grass. She allowed the rain to wash over her face, and she looked at the sky and smiled.

"Ah, it's so fun to dance around in the rain, neh, Otou-san?"

He never felt this way after his break up with Sakuno, or the time he spent with Ritsuko. What he felt now was something similar to winning tennis matches, going to Seigaku, getting married, pretty much everything in his entire life. This emotion within him was so different and refreshing. After many years of spending time in the darkness, he was able to find the strength to burrow out, put everything behind him, and start fresh. He gave a gentle smile and joined his daughter in the rain, laughing. He never felt any happier than this in his entire life; it was the start of something new.

A light drizzle began to form from the heavy downpour, the feeling of relief and forgiveness.

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**A/N: **I feel so refreshed after writing this, and I'm glad it turned out the way I hoped it to be. Two more chapters left, everyone, and we will be…DONE! Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!


	13. Chapter Fifteen: Forgiveness

August 25, 2007 to August 28, 2007 (REFORMATTED May 1, 2010)

**Disclaimers:** I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis and the wives of the regulars and such are Lifeless-heart's.  
**Summary:** Echizen Ryoma is now married, and he is ready to have a kid with Ryuzaki Sakuno. But what happens when some things just go terribly wrong? And what's with this extra person? Enjoy! _And don't forget to review please!_

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_Chapter Fifteen: Forgiveness_  
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"**Neh, Otou-san, let's go outside," said Raya as she began to drag her father. Ryoma put on a puzzled expression.**

"**Why? It's raining heavily outside, and you'll catch a cold."**

"**No I won't," reassured the teenager, and she opened the front door, "Because it's only rain now." She pulled him out onto the front lawn of his household and let go of his hand, jumping and moving around on the wet, green grass. She allowed the rain to wash over her face, and she looked at the sky and smiled.**

"**Ah, it's so fun to dance around in the rain, neh, Otou-san?"**

**He never felt this way after his break up with Sakuno, or the time he spent with Ritsuko. What he felt now was something similar to winning tennis matches, going to Seigaku, getting married, pretty much everything in his entire life. This emotion within him was so different and refreshing. After many years of spending time in the darkness, he was able to find the strength to burrow out, put everything behind him, and start fresh. He gave a gentle smile and joined his daughter in the rain, laughing. He never felt any happier than this in his entire life; it was the start of something new.**

**A light drizzle began to form from the heavy downpour, the feeling of relief and forgiveness.**

It has been many years since such a thing had occurred in the Echizen household, for Echizen Ryuzaki Raya grew up to one of the most famous and hardworking businesswoman as well as a part time tennis coach for Seigaku. Old habits die hard, you say? Indeed, these traditional hobbies and interests do die hard, for the Echizen line reproduces yet another generation of tennis fanatics, something that could never be broken.

So we readers now find ourselves heading towards the Echizen household, where a large family resides inside the fairly large house. The door swings open as two kids rush inside the hallway, kicking off their shoes and running to the living room, yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs.

"MOM! MOM! I MADE IT TO THE TENNIS TEAM!"

"OKAA-SAN! I'M THE VICE CAPTAIN OF MY TENNIS TEAM!"

The two students of Seishun Gakuen Academy, Ri-Fuu Akio and Ri-Fuu Ayame., were twins and loved tennis as much as the love their lovable parents combined. But Akio was older than his twin sister, Ayame, by two minutes. However, Ayame did better in school academics than her older twin brother, Akio. Although twins, the pair really differed a lot, but their overall appearances and interests were the same: tennis.

Ri-Fuu Akio, thirteen years old and a second year at Seigaku, made it to the boys' tennis team once more as he was when he was a freshman. His team had lost against the ferocious Rikkai Dai at that time, but he has greatly improved his techniques which were passed down from his mother and grandfather. He would always be cocky and arrogant just like a certain person from the Echizen bloodline. Sad thing is that he blows up all the chemicals and beakers during Chemistry class.

Ri-Fuu Ayame, thirteen years old as well and a second year at Seigaku, successfully became the vice captain of the girls' tennis club. Although the intensity of the competitions and matches is not as "burning" as the boys', the girls do decent during the matches. As a first year, she was always used as the substitute tennis regular for every upcoming tournament, but she did not mind. She used that time to improve her own tennis, derived from her passed grandmother's techniques, or rather her pass great-great-grandmother's, Ryuzaki Sumire.

So we resume to the story where the two twins are hoping to find their mother congratulate them, but instead an old man rests on the leather sofa, drinking the traditional Ponta can as he intently watches a tennis match on the television. He places the can onto the table and mumbles to himself, "Mada mada dane; that backhand swing is weak."

"Ojii-chan!" cried the two as they drop their tennis and school bags onto the living room floor and run up to their grandfather, sitting on both sides of the elder. They give him a brief hug before blurting out random things to him.

"Ryoma-ojii-chan! I made it to the tennis team again, and I'm a regular!" bragged Akio as he beamed, placing a hand onto his chest. The grandfather chuckled silently before admonishing him, "Never brag kid; that's something I learned."

"Ojii-chan," softly spoke Ayame, changing her voice and personality entirely, "I'm the new vice captain of the girls' tennis club this year."

"That's wonderful, Ayame-chan," voiced a womanly person, and the two children turned their heads to see their mother standing at the doorway. They both leapt off the couch and ran towards the forty year old woman, "Okaa-san! Mom!"

"**Aren't you forgetting someone?"** asked a manly voice, and the two directed their heads and greeted their father in English.

"**Dad! Welcome back!"**

"**Thank you, kids. Hello, Ryoma."**

"**Hello, Michael."**

During the past years, Raya had found an interesting classmate during her years in college. He was a foreigner, half Japanese and half American. Ri-Fuu Michael, his mother American and father Japanese, had a difficult time understanding Japanese, but Raya helped him out during the years. Soon, it had blossomed to love, and she had given birth to the two twins, Ri-Fuu Aiko and Ri-Fuu Ayame.

Echizen Ryoma had supported his daughter all the way. Although there were many hardships in the previous years, she finally gave in and truly forgave her father.

_**Flashback One: Reality**_

_**Raya was walking into the Echizen household after the day was over for her from college. Now she had a week's worth to relax from the stressful work, not to mention spending sometime with her boyfriend, Michael. She giggled to herself as she rang the doorbell, and Ryoma opened the door.**_

"_**Raya, come on in," invited Ryoma as he made way for her to enter, and she did so. Taking off her shoes, she sat on the living room couch, watching a tennis match that her father was just watching.**_

"_**Still obsessed after ten years, huh Otou-san?" asked Raya as she smirked, and accepted the Ponta.**_

"_**Hn," he bluntly said and there was a heavy silence between the two. Raya took in a deep breath and broke it apart.**_

"_**I've given a lot of thought during my college classes, and I know I've deliberately avoided you because I felt…insecure. But you kept on waiting for me, and you kept on living every second. I don't think it's really right to make you suffer, neh, Otou-san?" She looked at her father and smiled, a memory flashing in his mind.**_

"_**I know some of us don't like to be kept waiting, which is why I decided to believe you and give in my trust. I promise that I won't do such hateful things again…so this time for sure, I can accept you as a father."**_

_**He only hung his head in shame, tears ready to spill for the first time. He shook his head and sighed tiredly, "You're too much like her…just too much…"**_

Ryoma truly wondered how this family could stand on its own feet now. It was unbalanced and thrown off a few times here and there, but it all worked out in the end. It seemed as if an impossible dream, and he really did not know what egged and motivated him to support and hold the family up. He watched in satisfaction as Michael shoved the kids upstairs to do their homework while Raya gave him a peck on the cheek before heading off to the kitchen.

Looking out the window as he held the can of Ponta firmly in his hand, he noticed two birds mating midair. He sighed and closed his eyes, allowing the memories to flood back to him. Although the time between him and her was short, much shorter, he felt those memories were the most precious to him. Echizen really regretted giving up on her, and making her wait, and allowing her to die…but he had started something new with his daughter, which completed the first half of his penance. And the second half would be waiting for him, as always, with open arms. For the first time since a long time, a smile tugged onto his lips, and a few droplets rolled down his cheeks from his tear duct.

"Thank you, Sakuno."

_I will be waiting for you, Ryoma._

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_Owari_  
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**A/N: **Sorry for the short chapter... It's hard to believe that "Replacement" is nearing its end…I truly had a great time writing this, so thank you to all who have supported me throughout the entire way! But just to say...THIS IS THE END! The next chapter is just a tiny extra, somewhat involving the end of "Replacement". Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!


	14. Final Author's Note

August 2, 2007 to August 31, 2007 (REFORMATTED May 1, 2010)

**Disclaimers:** I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis and the wives of the regulars and such are Lifeless-heart's.  
**Summary:** Echizen Ryoma is now married, and he is ready to have a kid with Ryuzaki Sakuno. But what happens when some things just go terribly wrong? And what's with this extra person? Enjoy! _And don't forget to review please!_

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_Author's Note_  
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Dear beloved readers and readers of "Replacement",

I thank all of you for your time into reading and reviewing my story. They have made this story into something wonderful, and it is all thanks to the wonderful readers and reviewers who are always loyal to "Replacement". I received a total 168 of e-mails, and 140 reviews (as of May 1, 2010)! Yay!

Thank you for reviewing my story: **1FujiEijiLover**, **catseye007**, **nakima-chan** / **ThReEgIrLsWiThPoCkY**, **Lifelessheart**,** lian**, **abc**, **redrose / rosered**, **animeandmangaaddict**, **Lonely Rain**, **jackjack (Pooja)**, **asdfawsdf / asdfasdf**, **ANN**, **anonymous**, **Heart Br0ken**, **Momoko Hojo**, **Egyptianlover**, **Angel-of–ff7**, **koolasapixels**, **phoe2k**, **disneyrulz23**, **noomma**, **drewlover**, **MiNkY307**, **(blank)**, **Le Rose Suce**, **higuma**, **jenica**, **black rose**, **cute-azn-angel**, **Official RYOMA HATER!!**, **Kusayor**, **hahe!**, **Crystal-eyed ffgirl**, **ryouIShotHOT**, **'kawaiihanah**, **Sakuno Echizen**, **Ahotep**, **DreamingAboutYou15**, **Apple Snapple**, **tomato136**, **ryosakuforever, furubarulz1996-darkangelz, Smiling Monkey, -AcRaZyWriTer-**

Thank you for adding "Replacement" as an alert/favorite: **DevoTheMadCashCow**, **condawg1**, **noomma**, **drewlover**, **higuma**, **Heart Br0ken**, **Cherrish**, **Egyptianlover**, **Momoko Hojo**, **.Yukimura**, **younggem**, **animeandmangaaddict**, **Chatychatchat121**, **catseye007**, **Ahotep**, **1FujiEijiLover, atthecoastline**, **SimpleMoon**, **Kusayor**, **DreamingAboutYou15**, **disneyrulz23**, **ryouIShotHOT**, **animegrlrlz**, **geetac**, **yummygem**, **SPARXprincess14**, **AnuneFan412**, **Chatychatchat121**, **KawaiiPandaChan**, **LindaNM**

Shout Outs:

**Catseye007** – Thank you so much for supporting me, and I will continue to read your story!  
**Ahotep** – OMG, I JUST LOVE YOUR STORIES! YOU ARE ONE OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS AND IDOL FOR WRITING ON FANFICTION!  
**Nakima-chan** – I'll continue reading your story. :)  
**Lifelessheart **– Thank you so much for giving the story to me! I LOVE YOU (you know what I mean…)  
**Crystal-eyed ffgirl** – I thank you for your long reviews, especially when you have reviewed my other ones. Thanks for being emotional!  
**Abc – **ABC! You disappeared after chapter ten, and I was so afraid! (cries)

I will say this again: I am truly grateful for every one of you for reading this story. Especially Lifelessheart; she was the one who gave me the story, after all. So everyone, send your hugs and kisses to her!

This story is dedicated to my ballet teacher, Mrs. Ivonne Lemus, who is now away in Florida. I wish you the best of luck, the best of life, the best of everything, have fun, and don't be depressed. Times are always hard, Ms. Lemus, and with your heart, I am positive that your life will turn around to something more hopeful. So thank you for everything you have done for me, and I love you.

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_Owari_  
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**A/N:** Thank you, minna! I appreciate you A LOT. And to my ballet teacher, farewell, for I will truly miss you with all my heart. Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!


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